American Pipe Snake

Description:

This spotting is mainly for the 2019 Best Wildlife Photo showing interaction between species, as I previously wrote up the Anilius s. scytale https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/76... The scytale is the only species of the monotypic genus Anilius. It is a pretty snake that is mostly red to orange with black irregular bands. Some are somewhat melanistic having black scales peppered throughout the red, as this one does. They are cylindrical in shape, including the head and, according to most sources, can reach a length of 75 cm, however, I have recorded them as long as 106 cm. Although called a “burrowing snake” by Britannica, we find them mostly in or along small jungle streams where they feed on amphibians and other small snakes. This one was seen attacking a Dipsas indica ecuadoriensis, presumably for the purpose of eating it. However, realizing its “reduced eyes” were bigger than its smallish mouth, it eventually let the Dipsas go.

Habitat:

These snakes are found throughout Amazonia in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Venezuela. This one was found alongside a stream at 700 masl in the Amazon rainforest of SE Ecuador.

Notes:

This was somewhat strange as the Anilius didn’t even seem to try to advance its hold on the Dipsas, seeming content to just hold it. After a "short" struggle, it let the Dipsas go on its way. Perhaps the Dipsas did something to incur the wrath and punishment of the Anilius, but wasn’t severe enough to warrant becoming its meal :-)