Field Observation of Maternal Attendance of Eggs in a Madagascan Snake, Leioheterodon madagascariensis

Abstract

Maternal attendance of eggs is a parental care behavior widespread in snakes, but observations under natural situations are limited. During a radio-tracking study in a dry forest in Madagascar, we located a female Leioheterodon madagascariensis that was attending a clutch of eggs in a cavity below ground. The late embryonic stage of an excavated egg and locations of the female recorded before its discovery with the clutch suggest that the female had been attending the eggs for a relatively long period but with occasional intervals when she left the oviposition site.