What is the likely explanation researchers offer for why insects like grasshoppers appear in stomach content analysis of Crotalus atrox?
Answer
The invertebrates were likely consumed second-hand after being eaten by mammalian or reptilian victims.
While stomach content analysis has occasionally revealed the presence of invertebrates such as grasshoppers and beetles within Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, researchers generally do not classify this as primary feeding behavior. The prevailing hypothesis suggests that these insects were ingested indirectly. This occurs when the snake ambushes and consumes a primary prey item, such as a rodent or lizard, which had recently eaten those invertebrates shortly before the predator struck. Therefore, the snake consumed the insects second-hand as part of its vertebrate meal.
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