Field notes, v1308
Page 387
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Heere, H. 1997 June 9 (continued) we watch a 50-60cm Sinonatrix trianguligera in water a few meters from the deep end shore of the newt pond; it crawls w/ head raised above surface vegetation, often tongue flicking. We catch a 3cm Polypedates leucostigma and throw it from above, lands ~30cm from the watersnake. The frog hops once, and the snake dashes, chases across surface for ~3m and catches the frog underwater! For ~3 minutes we can see only movement beneath surface vegetation and an occasional out-poking frog foot or snout. Then snake head emerges holding frog at waist, swims 2m over surface vegetation w/ the frog dangling and seemingly immobile, and swallows the frog bump first w/ ~20cm of the snake actually up on the shore. Finished at 2041Hrs, tongue flicks, and crawls back into and under water. At 2044Hm we throw down another frog, which is seized at 2045:37, twice jaw-walked over torso and then initiated head-first ingestion at 2046:27, finishes and tongue flicks at 2047:52, goes under water and emerges heady,