• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.170-173
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• 2021

Background: The Slender racer (Orientocoluber spinalis Peters, 1866) has recently been reclassified to the new genus Orientocoluber from Hierophis. Ecological knowledge of this species is limited due to its highly mobile behavior. On 17 July 2020, we captured a female O. spinalis on Oeyeon Island, Boryeong-si, Republic of Korea, and collected its feces for a diet analysis. We observed snake scales from the collected feces and subsequently determined the prey species through morphological and molecular methods. Results: We initially hypothesized that the extracted fecal sample scales belonged to H. vibakari, due to their thin keel and rhombus shape. We also amplified H. vibakari DNA from the extracted fecal sample using Illumina sequencing methods. Our morphological and molecular results suggest that O. spinalis predates H. vibakari on Oeyeon Island. Conclusion: This is the first report of O. spinalis predating another snake species, ophiophagy, and implies that H. vibakari may be a crucial prey item for O. spinalis on Oeyeon Island.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.183-189
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• 2022

Background: Radio-telemetry is a useful method to investigate the spatial ecology of species in the wild, by tracking the signal of a transmitter attached to an individual. The method of attaching a transmitter to a snake is representatively divided into surgical implantation, and external attachment, which latter is often used in small snake species. Results: In this study, we evaluated and compared the utility of two external attachment methods, the nylon thread method and the tape method, applied to a small grassland snake species of approximately 50 cm snout-vent length, the Slender racer (Orientocoluber spinalis), on an island in the Republic of Korea. The nylon thread method and the tape method were applied to four and five individuals, and radio-tracked for an average of eight and eleven days, respectively. The nylon thread method caused individual injury and disturbed their movement, while using the tape method, the transmitter package sometimes dropped off, but no injury or movement problems occurred. Conclusions: Considering that poor understanding of how to attach the transmitter makes it difficult to investigate the spatial ecology of small snake species, the tape method, evaluated in this study, could be applied to attach a transmitter and to study spatial ecology of such snakes.