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Full-Text Articles in Forest Sciences
Prey Handling And Diet Of Louisiana Pine Snakes (Pituophis Ruthveni) And Black Pine Snakes (P. Melanoleucus Lodingi), With Comparisons To Other Selected Colubrid Snakes, D. Craig Rudolph, Shirley J. Burgdorf, Richard N. Conner, Christopher S. Collins, Daniel Saenz, Richard R. Schaefer, Toni Trees, C. Michael Duran, Marc Ealy, John G. Himes
Prey Handling And Diet Of Louisiana Pine Snakes (Pituophis Ruthveni) And Black Pine Snakes (P. Melanoleucus Lodingi), With Comparisons To Other Selected Colubrid Snakes, D. Craig Rudolph, Shirley J. Burgdorf, Richard N. Conner, Christopher S. Collins, Daniel Saenz, Richard R. Schaefer, Toni Trees, C. Michael Duran, Marc Ealy, John G. Himes
Faculty Publications
Diet and prey handling behavior were determined for Louisiana pine snakes (Pituophis ruthveni) and black pine snakes (P. melanoleucus lodingi). Louisiana pine snakes prey heavily on Baird's pocket gophers (Geomys breviceps), with which they are sympatric, and exhibit specialized behaviors that facilitate handling this prey species within the confines of burrow systems. Black pine snakes, which are not sympatric with pocket gophers, did not exhibit these specialized behaviors. For comparative purposes, prey handling of P. sayi sayi and Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri was also examined.