Snake ecomorphs

Question 1

Spend most time on ground
 May occasionally climb into vegetation
 Moderate to large snakes
 Stout to very stout bodies
 Nocturnal or diurnal
 Generally feed on vertebrates
Morphology moderate in most respects
 E.g., Pituophis, Lampropeltis
 Terrestrial vipers – usually ambush predators
 Robust bodies, large heads, short tails (e.g., Agkistrodon contortrix)

Answer 1

Generalized Terrestrial Ecomorph

Question 2

Spend most time under rocks, logs, or leaf litter”
 Diurnal or nocturnal
 Generally feed on inverts or ectothermic vertebrates
 Morphology:
 Small to moderate in size
 Head small, neck indistinct
 Eyes small but distinct
 Tail moderately short
Usually unicolor or blotched, often a neck blotch or band
 Examples: Virginia, Storeria, Sonora, Diadophis

Answer 2

Secretive Terrestrial Ecomorph

Question 3

Spend most of time on surface or in low vegetation
  Diurnal, active forage for prey
  Generally feed on vertebrates
  Overpower or incapacitate with venom 
  They are not constrictors
  Morphology:
  Moderate to large size; slender body & tail
  Head large, distinct from body
  Eyes large
  T ail very long
  Color pattern unicolor or striped
  Examples: Coluber, Masticophis

Answer 3

Racer Ecomorph

Question 4

Highly specialized; nearly exclusive subterranean existence
  Eat invertebrates & their eggs 
  Usually ants and termites
Morphology:
  Small to very small
  Head indistinct from body
  Terminal blunt tail
  Body cylindrical
  Eyes vestigial
  Scales smooth, shiny, unicolor
  Ventrals indistinguishable from dorsals
  Example: Leptotyphlops

Answer 4

Fossorial Ecomorph

Question 5

Spend much of time under sand
Two morphotypes:
1. Similar to other small burrowers but with countersunk lowerjaw & valved nostrils
~Concave ventrum for under-sand respiration
~Color pattern usually ringed or
banded
~Examples: Chilomensicus, Chionactis
Chionactis
2. Viperid version tends to have horns over eyes and/or dorsal eyes, nostrils

Answer 5

Sand Burrower Ecomorph

Question 6

Spend much time in low vegetation or trees
 Generalized forms have relatively indistinct morphology
~E.g., Pantherophis obsoleta
1. Vine snakes are long & very slender, come in sharp-snouted (e.g., Oxybelis) and blunt- headed varieties
Long slender body; extremely long tail
 Body often laterally compressed
 Elongate body acts as cantilever to span gaps in vegetation
 Often with enlarged dorsal scale row
 Eyes large with horizontally or vertically elliptic pupil
 Long-snouted version may have groove between eye & rostrum
 Facilitates binocular vision
 Long-headed vine snakes tend to be diurnal
 Blunt-headed taxa nocturnal
2. Arboreal boids, pythons and vipers are relatively stout bodied with prehensile tail
~ambush predators

Answer 6

Arboreal Ecomorph

Question 7

Spend most of time in fresh or brackish water
 Feed mostly on aquatic vertebrates
 Diurnal and/or nocturnal
Morphology:
 Moderate to large
 Often fairly heavy-bodied
 Often with keeled dorsals
 Distinct head
 May have dorsal nostrils, eyes
 Nostrils may be valved
 Examples: Nerodia, Agkistrodon piscivorus
Variations on the aquatic ecomorph:
 Nerodia & Thamnophis: more semi-aquatic
 Enhydris & Acrochordus: fully aquatic
 Farancia: aquatic burrower, similar to its primary prey the Amphiuma

Answer 7

Aquatic Ecomorph

Question 8

  May be found well out to sea
  venomous
  Evolved twice within Elapidae
  Both groups with valved nostrils, laterally compressed tails
  Hydrophiines are more specialized 
  Undifferentiated ventral scales, dorsal
eyes, viviparous 
  Never return to land

Answer 8

Marine Ecomorph