Igor Yuri Fernandes / INPA
Normally shy, the Catesby’s snail-eater snake can defend itself with a sound like a squeakIgor Yuri Fernandes / INPAA group of postgraduate students from the Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) searching for reptiles and amphibians at night found a small Catesby’s snail-eater (Dipsas catesbyi) and decided to record a video of its typical behavior of hiding its head when threatened. But when they picked up the animal, it reacted aggressively (for such a shy creature) by uncoiling and opening its mouth. The bigger surprise, however, was the short squeak it made. “It is the first record of this behavior by any snake in South America,” says biologist Igor Yuri Fernandes, the doctoral student behind the camera. “After the group shared the video, several researchers and natural history enthusiasts commented that they had previously heard vocalizations in different types of snakes.” This seems to suggest that although these reptiles rarely make such noises, they do have the ability. With this new public record of the fact, there is now a greater incentive to document more instances (Acta Amazonica, INPA newsletter, October 16).
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