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DEATH FEIGNING BEHAVIOR IN LARGE-EYED FALSE COBRA
Pseudoxenodon macrops (BLYTH, 1854) (SQUAMATA: COLUBRIDAE)
Harshal S. Bhosale1and Vedant Thite2
Submitted January 26, 2013.
Death feigning is reported in the species Pseudoxenodon macrops for the first time. This behavior involved rolling
over on back, exposing its ventral side with its mouth half open and tongue sticking out.
Keywords: defensive behavior; Pseudoxenodon macrops; Indo-Chinese region.
INTRODUCTION
Death feigning or “Thanatosis” is a form of defensive
behavior in which an individual animal pretends to be
dead when threatened or when attacked by a predator.
Death feigning has been observed across taxa and exam-
ples are known from mammals, birds, fishes, reptiles,
amphibians and arthropods (Vogel and Kam, 2010).
Though a widespread phenomenon, death feigning re-
mains poorly understood. There is little work published
on this behavior in Asian snakes (Mirza et al., 2011).
Only three records of death feigning in snakes from India
have been reported which include: Xenochrophis pis-
cator (Schneider, 1799), Coelognathus radiatus (Boie,
1026-2296/2013/2003-0190 © 2013 Folium Publishing Company
Russian Journal of Herpetology Vol. 20, No. 3, 2013, pp. 190 – 192
1Department of Environmental Science, Fergusson College, Fergus-
son College road, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India;
e-mail: harshabhosale99@gmail.com
2Shilp, Plot No. 99, Varadayni society, Sus road, Pashan, Pune
411021, Maharashtra, India; e-mail: vedantthite007@gmail.com
Fig. 1. Pseudoxenodon macrops (Blyth, 1854) from Talle Valley WLS. Photograph by Harshal Bhosale.
1827), and Lycodon aulicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Vogel and
Kam 2010; Mirza et al., 2011).
Here, we provide the first report of the behavior in
another Asian species. Pseudoxenodon macrops which is
widely spread throughout the Indo-Chinese region in
Asia. It is an uncommonly encountered species occurring
in evergreen forests in regions up to 2000 m a.s.l. This
snake, when threatened, flattens its neck and raises its
fore body to display a hood, resembling a cobra (Whi-
taker and Captain, 2004) as a primary defensive strategy.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Observations were made on snakes in their habitats at
Talle Valley WLS, Arunachal Pradesh, India by two ob-
servers (Figs. 1 and 2). The specimens were collected for
the purpose of determination and photography, after
which they were released in their respective habitats.
Death feigning behavior was observed in this species on
two occasions (Fig. 3).
Death Feigning Behavior in Large-Eyed False Cobra Pseudoxenodon macrops 191
Fig. 2. Pseudoxenodon macrops (Blyth, 1854) from Talle Valley WLS, primary defensive strategy. Photograph by Harshal Bhosale.
Fig. 3. Death feigning by an individual of Pseudoxenodon macrops
(Blyth, 1854) from Talle Valley WLS. Photograph by Vedant Thite.
RESULTS
Case 1. Specimen No. 1 was encountered during the
survey along the road between Manipoliang to Pange
campsite (27°32¢44.33¢¢ N 93°54¢00.18¢¢ E, elevation:
1800 m a.s.l.) on 5th June 2012. The individual was
found inside a rotten log along the roadside. On handling,
the snake was initially aggressive and displayed a hood
mimicking a cobra. The individual continuously at-
tempted to bite for about 2 min. Later, as the snake was
not allowed to escape, it rolled over on its back exposing
its ventral side with its mouth half open and the tongue
sticking out. When picked up, using a snake stick, the
snake made no attempt to bite nor did it show any signs
of movement. The snake lay immobile in the same posi-
tion for about 10 min, tongue flickering was then ob-
served, followed by slow movement and finally the snake
slowly tried to escape.
Case 2. Specimen No. 2 was found on the road
from Pange campsite and Talle Valley (27°33¢30.05” N
93°53¢30.27” E, elevation: 1800 m a.s.l.). The specimen
was collected and brought back to the Pange campsite for
examination and photography. While photographing, the
individual tried to bite and to escape. However, this ag-
gressive behavior was followed by abrupt and complete
cessation of movement coupled with opening the mouth
sticking out the tongue and exposing the ventral side sim-
ilar to specimen 1. This state lasted for about 5 min after
which the snake revived and attempted to escape slowly
and tried to bite again but did not exhibit death feigning
again.
DISCUSSION
Earlier, few herpetologists and colleagues have ob-
served this behavior in Pseudoxenodon macrops from
other parts of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Unfortunately
these observations were not recorded or published (Chin-
tan Sheth, personal communication). It is not known if
there is any correlation of this behavior with environmen-
tal factors like temperature, humidity etc. A detailed
study on death feigning behavior in snakes of Asia is
desired and a comparison of the conditions in which this
behavior is exhibited would be interesting.
Acknowledgments. We are really thankful to Dr. Ramana
Athreya (IISER, Pune, India) for giving us the opportunity to
explore the region in Talle Valley WLS. We would also like to
thank our friends Devavrat Joshi, Sameer Hiremath and Emily
Stormy for their contribution in the literature. We would like to
thank Aamod Zambre, Zeeshan Mirza and Gernot Vogel for
their comments and review. Special thanks to Rohan Pandit,
Reddy Baie (R. F. O. Talle Valley WLS) and the local staff for
providing assistance on field. We would like to thank Mr. Ani-
rudh Chaoji for recommending us for the survey.
REFERENCES
Mirza Z., Vaze V., and Sanap R. (2011), “Death feigning
behavior in two species of the genus Lycodon of Asia,”
Herpetol. Notes,4, 295 – 297.
Vogel G. and Kam Han-Yuem H. (2010), “Death feigning
behavior in three colubrid species of tropical Asia,” Russ. J.
Herpetol.,17(1), 15 – 21.
Whitaker R. and Captain A. (2004), Snakes of India. The
Field Guide, India, Draco Books.
192 Harshal S. Bhosale and Vedant Thite
