Ecology of the Southeastern Crowned Snake, Tantilla coronata

There are very few comprehensive studies of the ecology of small-bodied snakes. Here, we describe the ecology and demography of the Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata) based on 1,640 captures on the Savannah River Site in the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina, USA from 1951–2007. Female T. coronata were significantly longer, heavier, and heavier-bodied than males but had relatively shorter tails. Clutch size based on oviductal eggs was positively correlated to maternal body mass and length. Snakes exhibited a unimodal seasonal activity pattern that peaked in summer. Pitfall captures were significantly male-biased from July–October, corresponding to the suggested mating period for this species in this part of its range. We identified three classes of animals in the population: neonates, second year animals, and older animals that included both non-reproductive subadults and reproductive adults. Longevity was at least five years for two recaptured males originally captured as mature adults. Centipede species were the exclusive prey identified from T. coronata collected on the Savannah River Site. Our study demonstrates that research on underrepresented species is possible and can contribute to understanding of snake ecology.

Fig. 1

Monthly relative abundance of Tantilla coronata captured during an intensive pitfall trapping session from 2004–2006 on the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA. Captures are adjusted for sampling effort by dividing total monthly captures by trap nights for that month and multiplying by 10⁶. “n.d.” indicates no data collected in August from 2004–2006.

Fig. 2

Percentage of male and female Tantilla coronata captured in pitfall traps from 1951–2007 on the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA. The box indicates significantly male-biased captures from July through October (P < 0.03). Samples sizes for each month are provided above the bars.

Fig. 3

Relationship between clutch size and maternal body length of Tantilla coronata captured on the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA. The number of oviductal eggs was positively correlated with maternal mass (P = 0.003) and snout–vent length (P = 0.007).

Fig. 4

Snout–vent length versus capture day of Tantilla coronata captured from 1951–2007 on the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA (first year animals n = 4; second year animals n = 21; males n = 325; females n = 236). The dashed lines represent the range of capture days for gravid females and the arrow points to the median day of capture of gravid females.

Fig. 5

Seasonal variation in gut contents of dissected Tantilla coronata captured on the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA. Snakes were grouped into one of the four listed categories based on the total amount of gut contents contained in the stomach and intestines for males (A) and females (B). Sample sizes for each month are listed above the bars. The few gravid females (n = 10) in the museum collection were excluded.

Contributor Notes

Associate Editor: J. D. Litzgus.

¹ University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, E-mail: (BDT) btodd@uga.edu. Send reprint requests to BDT.

² University of Missouri, Division of Biological Sciences, 105 Tucker Hall, Columbia, Missouri 65211-7400.

Received: 26 Dec 2006

Accepted: 25 Sept 2007