Antaresia Childreni (Children's Python) Diet

Innumerous knowledge gaps exist in snake diets, especially for species from remote tropical areas. Pythons feed primarily on mammals and birds; however, a few smaller species, including Anteresia childreni, include frogs in their diet (Shine and Slip 1990. Herpetologica 46:283–290). Anteresia childreni is widespread across much of tropical northern Australia (Cogger 2018. Amphibians and Reptiles of Australia. 7th Edition. CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Australia. 1096 pp.). Copland’s Rock Frog (Litoria coplandi) is a common, semi-arboreal species inhabiting rocky escarpments from the Kimberley region of Western Australia to western Queensland (Clulow and Swan 2018. A Complete Guide to the Frogs of Australia. Australian Geographic, Sydney. 336 pp.; Cogger 2018, op. cit.). Here, we report an observation of an A. childreni preying upon an L. coplandi in tropical northwestern Australia.