Dendrophidion clarkia (painted forest-racer) and Atractus dunni (sleepy groundsnake): Communal nesting

Communal nesting is widespread in snakes, and may be much more common than appreciated in these animals with secretive nesting habits (Doody et al. 2009. Quart. Rev. Biol. 84:229– 252). In particular, reports of communal nesting in tropical snakes are uncommon, probably due to bias in research effort in the tropics (Doody et al., op. cit.). Dendrophidion clarkii is a medium-sized diurnal, semi-arboreal colubrid snake inhabiting forested areas and edges from Costa Rica south to Ecuador (Uetz et al. 2017. The Reptile Database. http://www.reptile-database. org; accessed 29 October 2017). Atractus dunni is a small semifossorial habitat generalist endemic to Ecuador (Arteaga et al. 2013. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo. Life in the Cloud Forest. Imprenta Mariscal, Ecuador. 257 pp.). Both are oviparous snakes with no published records of nesting. Herein we report on the discovery of a mixed-species communal nest of D. clarkii and A. dunni.