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Brown blunt-headed vine snake (Imantodes cenchoa)
Brown blunt-headed vine snake (Imantodes cenchoa), a unique species with an incredibly thin body and neck that feeds on frogs and lizards. In a National Science Foundation-supported study, researchers found that with the loss of amphibians, the body condition of these snakes decreased, leaving the remaining individuals thinner and with less energy reserves.
[Research supported by National Science Foundation grant DEB 0717741, DEB 1702635, DBI 1611692, DEB 0645875, IOS 0429223 and IOS 0519458]
Learn more about this research in the NSF infographic Tracking rare snakes before they disappear; or in the Michigan State University news story The curious case of the disappearing snakes. (Date image taken: unknown; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Feb. 27, 2020)
Credit: Photograph by Andrew Hein
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