PUBLICATIONS: two new student notes published

Two new student-led notes were recently published in Herpetological Review 56(2). Both were natural history notes, documenting new diet items for two species. Undergraduate technician Caden Myers published an observation of an Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) scavenging a road-killed North American Racer (Coluber constrictor) in Colorado. This observation follows a separate, recently published observation of a T. ornata consuming a road-killed Gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer) in eastern New Mexico. These observations suggest that T. ornata may scavenge road-killed snakes at a higher frequency than previously reported. The second note was written by M.S. student Sebastian Summo Elias and documented three new fish species in the diet of Western Ribbonsnakes (Thamnophis proximus) in New Mexico. Though the species is considered to primarily consume amphibians, several individual snakes regurgitated fish not previously recorded in their diet: Pecos Pupfish, Fathead Minnows, and Rio Grande Silvery Minnows. Congratulations to both students on their publications!

Summo Elias SD, Davis DR. 2025. Thamnophis proximus (western ribbonsnake). Diet. Herpetological Review 56:221–222. [PDF]

Myers CJ, Davis DR. 2025. Terrapene ornata (ornate box turtle). Diet. Herpetological Review 56:199. [PDF]