Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria) feeding on Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus)

Description:

Description: English: Sequence of predation of a Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria) feeding on a Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus) in a cave in Napo province, Ecuador. A: Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria) maintains the prey in the mouth with the interest to make sure it is dead, elongated thumb with three typical bearings evidences the species of the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus). B: E. cenchria releases the dead prey. C: E. cenchria turns around D. rotundus having the first attempt to swallow prey. D: Evidence of sex-age category of the prey, being a female adult; 2e: Starting the second constriction. F: After the second constriction E. cenchria swallows almost entirely D. rotundus. G, H: Prey is almost completely eaten except for the wings, but the three typical bearings can be seen on the thumb of D. rotundus. Date: 20 September 2016. Source: Martin-Solano S, Toulkeridis T, Addison A, Pozo-Rivera WE (2016) Predation of Desmodus rotundus Geoffroy, 1810 (Phyllostomidae, Chiroptera) by Epicrates cenchria (Linnaeus, 1758) (Boidae, Reptilia) in an Ecuadorian Cave. Subterranean Biology 19: 41-50. doi: 10.3897/subtbiol.19.8731. Author: Sarah Martin-Solano, Theofilos Toulkeridis, Aaron Addison, Wilmer E. Pozo-Rivera. Other versions: This file has an extracted image: File:Rainbow Boa (Epicrates cenchria) feeding on Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus) (cropped).jpg..