Hi desertanimal (Steph?),
Kathy sent me the link to your latest post. Wow, I sure have missed visiting Madagascar the last 3 years, but your stories and pics help fill the gap - THANKS!
I just wanted to add some IDs to your critters for you, as I'm guessing you weren't sure since no names were mentioned. The first reddish-brown chameleon looks like an adult female spiny chameleon Furcifer verrucosus, and the battling chameleons are adult male spiny chameleons Furcifer verrucosus. The one shot of a smaller bright green one (right after the two locking jaws) looks like an adult male carpet chameleon Furcifer lateralis, and the last one is an adult male spiny chameleon Furcifer verrucosus all colored up for the breeding season, which you’re at the end of in March in SW Madagascar.
The big 'roof' snake is Ithycyphus oursi, the 'zebu killer' from other parts of the country where the species has a red-tinged head. Some rural people believe it waits in trees for a zebu to walk by underneath and drop like a spear to kill it. I saw one of that species at Beza-Mahafaly, draped loosely on a horizontal branch that was jutting out from the main tree clutter of branches about 12 feet up. Although I didn't see any action, I got the distinct impression it was waiting there for a bird to land on that perfect perch branch. That species blends so well with the bark that it seemed like a logical hunting strategy, assuming they also include birds in their diet. Glaw & Vences cites Oustalet's chameleons as known food, but they're also known to take rodents in captivity.
On the battling snakes, the victim looks like Madagascarophis meriodionalis, and the aggressor appears to be the poorly known snake Liophidium “vaillanti”; I put that name in quotes because the pic of it in Glaw & Vences (2007) on page 435 looks exactly like it, though it’s not known to occur outside of Isalo (according to the book). There isn’t any mention of that genus of snake even eating other snakes, so your observation and pic may be a first. I should mention that you're situated in a very poorly studied part of Madagascar, and your observations and pics could be valuable to herpetology. Please keep accurate written notes of things you observe because 'common' things you're witnessing could be new info to science.
Kathy sent me the link to your latest post. Wow, I sure have missed visiting Madagascar the last 3 years, but your stories and pics help fill the gap - THANKS!
I just wanted to add some IDs to your critters for you, as I'm guessing you weren't sure since no names were mentioned. The first reddish-brown chameleon looks like an adult female spiny chameleon Furcifer verrucosus, and the battling chameleons are adult male spiny chameleons Furcifer verrucosus. The one shot of a smaller bright green one (right after the two locking jaws) looks like an adult male carpet chameleon Furcifer lateralis, and the last one is an adult male spiny chameleon Furcifer verrucosus all colored up for the breeding season, which you’re at the end of in March in SW Madagascar.
The big 'roof' snake is Ithycyphus oursi, the 'zebu killer' from other parts of the country where the species has a red-tinged head. Some rural people believe it waits in trees for a zebu to walk by underneath and drop like a spear to kill it. I saw one of that species at Beza-Mahafaly, draped loosely on a horizontal branch that was jutting out from the main tree clutter of branches about 12 feet up. Although I didn't see any action, I got the distinct impression it was waiting there for a bird to land on that perfect perch branch. That species blends so well with the bark that it seemed like a logical hunting strategy, assuming they also include birds in their diet. Glaw & Vences cites Oustalet's chameleons as known food, but they're also known to take rodents in captivity.
On the battling snakes, the victim looks like Madagascarophis meriodionalis, and the aggressor appears to be the poorly known snake Liophidium “vaillanti”; I put that name in quotes because the pic of it in Glaw & Vences (2007) on page 435 looks exactly like it, though it’s not known to occur outside of Isalo (according to the book). There isn’t any mention of that genus of snake even eating other snakes, so your observation and pic may be a first. I should mention that you're situated in a very poorly studied part of Madagascar, and your observations and pics could be valuable to herpetology. Please keep accurate written notes of things you observe because 'common' things you're witnessing could be new info to science.
