Ontogenetic shifts and trophic differentiation shape dietary diversity in Oxyrhopus false coral snakes

Ontogenetic shifts and trophic differentiation shape dietary diversity in Oxyrhopus false coral snakes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Ontogenetic shifts and trophic differentiation shape dietary diversity in Oxyrhopus false coral snakes Paola De la Quintana, Mirco Solé This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8743227/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Snakes of the genus Oxyrhopus are widely distributed throughout the Neotropics and are commonly described as dietary generalists. However, the extent to which morphology, ontogeny, and interspecific interactions shape their trophic ecology remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated dietary composition, intraspecific variation related to sex and age, and interspecific trophic overlap among Oxyrhopus species from Bahia, Brazil. Diet was assessed through stomach content analysis, with prey importance quantified using the Index of Relative Importance (IRI) and niche overlap estimated using Pianka’s index. Ontogenetic variation in prey size was further evaluated in relation to head morphology using linear regression analyses. Across species, juveniles predominantly consumed reptiles, whereas adults incorporated larger prey items, particularly mammals, consistent with ontogenetic shifts associated with gape limitation. Head width was positively correlated with prey width, supporting the role of morphology in constraining maximum prey size. Dietary overlap between males and females was generally high despite sexual size dimorphism, indicating limited sex-based trophic segregation. In contrast, interspecific dietary overlap was low for most species pairs, suggesting that trophic differentiation may facilitate coexistence. An exception was observed between O. trigeminus and O. rhombifer , particularly among juveniles, reflecting shared constraints during early life stages. Our findings highlight the combined influence of ontogeny, morphology, and geographic context on dietary patterns in Oxyrhopus , supporting trophic differentiation as an important axis of niche segregation among sympatric Neotropical snakes. Dietary niche overlap Ontogenetic variation Gape limitation Trophic ecology Neotropical Snakes Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 02 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 02 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 30 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8743227","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627362211,"identity":"5adf7331-ab0c-43ff-a589-a58899183317","order_by":0,"name":"Paola De la Quintana","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACxgMMDMwguuHAhwobEKPxACE9UC3MjQdnnEmD6CVSC3vzYd6WwzAR3MCc/fCBAz8YrBn4GxgbDs5sOG+3tv0w0JYam2hcWix70hIO9jCkM0gcALrn447bydvOJAK1HEvLbcChxeBAjsEBHobDDAYMIFvO3E42OwDUwthwGLeW828MDv6BajnM23Yu2ez8QwJabuQYHOZBaDlgZ3aDgC2WM54lHJYxSOeROAx02IwzyQlmN4C2JODxizl/8sGHbyqs5fjb2x9/+FBhZ292Pv3hgw81NrgdBiV5wFEDBIlglQk4lCO0IAF7PIpHwSgYBaNghAIAj2tqExDDVFMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"State University of Santa Cruz","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paola","middleName":"De la","lastName":"Quintana","suffix":""},{"id":627362212,"identity":"c7c13ba1-c426-49e3-add3-5de3ac0ad8e2","order_by":1,"name":"Mirco Solé","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"State University of Santa Cruz","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mirco","middleName":"","lastName":"Solé","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-30 16:23:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8743227/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8743227/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108181155,"identity":"b67f850e-a613-4d40-8198-a10a4404f51d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-30 08:57:57","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":613007,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DelaQuintanaandSole2026Diet.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8743227/v1_covered_5c2ff052-13f7-4f89-ba9f-0b2c76873aea.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Ontogenetic shifts and trophic differentiation shape dietary diversity in Oxyrhopus false coral snakes","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"frontiers-in-zoology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"finz","sideBox":"Learn more about [Frontiers in Zoology](http://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/finz/default.aspx","title":"Frontiers in Zoology","twitterHandle":"@BioMedCentral","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Dietary niche overlap, Ontogenetic variation, Gape limitation, Trophic ecology, Neotropical Snakes","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8743227/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8743227/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSnakes of the genus \u003cem\u003eOxyrhopus\u003c/em\u003e are widely distributed throughout the Neotropics and are commonly described as dietary generalists. 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Dietary overlap between males and females was generally high despite sexual size dimorphism, indicating limited sex-based trophic segregation. In contrast, interspecific dietary overlap was low for most species pairs, suggesting that trophic differentiation may facilitate coexistence. An exception was observed between \u003cem\u003eO. trigeminus\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eO. rhombifer\u003c/em\u003e, particularly among juveniles, reflecting shared constraints during early life stages. 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