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Rivas, J. A. and S. Kane. 2003. Pseustes sulphureus (Amazon puffing snake) Diet. Herpetological Review. 34(1): 72 Click here for a pdf

Pseustes sulphureus (Amazon Puffing Snake). Diet. Forest dwelling snakes are very poorly studied because they are difficult to find and catch. Here we report an event of Pseustes sulphureus feeding on a little tinamous (Cryptorellus soui; Tinamidae) in the Ecuadorian rainforest.

A specimen of P. sulphureus was caught on 24 April 2000 at 0930 h at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (Tiputini river, Amazon basin), Ecuador. The snake was discovered basking in a tree 1.5 m above ground, in a fleck of sun light that penetrated to the under story. The individual measured 249.5 cm in total length, 211 cm in snout-vent length and weighed 345 g. After 24 hrs of captivity in a cloth bag it defecated the remains of a bird that was identified as a C. soui. This bird is a fairly common ground dwelling species that averages 188 g in weight.

Data for this contribution were collected during the activities, and as a byproduct, of a course of tropical ecology by Boston University and Universidad San Francisco de Quito at Tiputini Biodiversity Station. We thank M. Lentino for sharing unpublished information on C. soui. We also thank M. Rodriguez and S. Seger and for help in the fieldwork and identification of the sample.

Submitted by Jesús A. Rivas, 5105 Trenton Road, Knoxville, Tennessee 37920, USA, and Stephanie Kane, 6 Marblestone Lane, South Setauket, New York 11720, USA.