. Chinese herpetological research. Amphibians; Reptiles. Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 26 Chinese Herpetological Research April 1989. Fig. 3. Mock viper, Psammodynastes pulverulentus, constricting and envenomating a scincid lizard, Eumeces tetragrammus. Note enlarged anterior maxillary and dentary teeth restraining the skink, and posterior maxillary fang penetrating the prey's nostril. scincid lizards, as they were limp and immobile during ingestion (Shaw [cited in Smith 1943] and Gabe and Saint Girons [1971] noted rapid mortality of lizards and a snake bitten by this species). Prey were always manipulate
. Chinese herpetological research. Amphibians; Reptiles. Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 26 Chinese Herpetological Research April 1989. Fig. 3. Mock viper, Psammodynastes pulverulentus, constricting and envenomating a scincid lizard, Eumeces tetragrammus. Note enlarged anterior maxillary and dentary teeth restraining the skink, and posterior maxillary fang penetrating the prey's nostril. scincid lizards, as they were limp and immobile during ingestion (Shaw [cited in Smith 1943] and Gabe and Saint Girons [1971] noted rapid mortality of lizards and a snake bitten by this species). Prey were always manipulated in the jaws without release, then usually swallowed head-first by the captive mock viper, as is typical of many snakes (Greene 1976, 1983, 1984, Ananjeva and Orlov 1982, Voris and Voris 1983, Seib 1984, 1985). Among 74 natural prey items for which direction of ingestion was determined, 46 lizards, 12 frogs, and seven snakes were swallowed head-first; three lizards and two frogs were swallowed bent- double; and three lizards and one frog were swallowed tail-first (p < .01, chi square test, for head-first versus not head-first). Times from seizing 4 and 5 g prey lizards (Eumeces sp.) until completion of ingestion were and minutes, respectively. for the captive snake. Information on Other Taxa Species oi Ahaetulla (Smith 1943, Lim 1956, Leviton 1968, Henderson and Binder 1980, pers. obs.), Cyclocorus (Taylor 1922, Leviton 1965a), Lepturophis (Lim and Kamarudin 1975), Lycodon (Smith 1943, Leviton 1965b, pers. obs.), Lycophidion (Branch 1976, Savitzky 1981, Broadley 1983), Macroprotodon (Ferrand de Almeida and Ferrand de Almeida 1986), Mehelya (Savitzky 1981, Broadley 1983), and Psammophis (Smith 1943, Broadley 1983) feed frequently on lizards, especially, at least in some cases, on skinks. Relatively large skinks are trapped behind and/or impaled on the enlarged anterior teeth of Lycophidion (Broadley 1983, Savitzky pers. comm.), but I am not aware of observations on
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