Abstract
We report the killing of a snake (Philodryas nattereri, Colubridae) by a blonde capuchin monkey (Sapajus flavius, Cebidae). This endemic primate species from the northeast of Brazil includes vertebrates such as lizards and marsupials in its diet, but we can find no previously published record of an attack upon or consumption of snakes by this species of platyrhine monkey. During the attack, the group mobbed the snake, with individuals uttering agonistic vocalizations and displaying behaviors such as raising their tails, moving tree branches, piloerecting, and baring their teeth. An adult male monkey seized the snake, bit and twisted its body, thereby killing it; he then dropped the carcass onto tree branches, but did not consume it. This single event suggests that this Cebidae species may be able to distinguish dangerous from harmless snakes, and it also may be an example of a lethally violent reaction to a potential predator or competitor, exemplifying the plasticity and cognitive skills exhibited by genus Sapajus.
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Source: Gibran Anderson
Source: Gibran Anderson
Source: Gibran Anderson
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Primatas Brasileiros and Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (CPB/ICMBio) and all their members, to the Laboratory of Mastozoology (MAME) particularly to Mr. Pedro Cordeiro Estrela, and to Laboratory of Applied Ecology and Conservation (LEAC) both from Department of Systematics and Ecology−University Federal of Paraíba. Thanks to Mr. Lucas Cavalcanti, Mr. Fagner Delfim, and the Herpetology Laboratory of University Federal of Paraíba for the snake identification and references, and to Monte Alegre, the owner of Sucupira torta, for all of the support given during the data collection. We are grateful to Mr. William McGrew and other reviewers from Primates, and to Ms. Illiana E. Anise for their very helpful suggestions for the improvement of this paper. Special thanks to the Brazilian Society of Primatology, to Mr. Tarcísio Alves Cordeiro, Mr. Ronilson José da Paz, and Mr. Adelson, a great field partner, without whose help this work would not have been possible.
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Da Silva, G.A.O., Falótico, T., Nash, S.D. et al. A green racer snake (Philodryas nattereri, Colubridae) killed but not eaten by a blonde capuchin monkey (Sapajus flavius, Cebidae). Primates 60, 459–465 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00738-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00738-9