Table 1. Records of Eastern Newt (N. viridescens) predation by Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes (H. platirhinos).
| Location of predation by H. platirhinos | Snake age class | Newt stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Parish, LA | Neonate/juvenile | Eft | Williams, 2011 |
| Ozark County, MO | Subadult/adult | Adult | M. Nickerson (personal communication) |
| Wake County, NC | Neonate/juvenile | Eft | Palmer and Braswell, 1995 |
| Wake County, NC | Subadult/adult | Eft | Hurst, 1963 |
| New Hanover County, NC | Neonate/juvenile | Eft | J Hall and R Myers (personal communication) |
| Vinton County, OH | Subadult/adult | Eft | C. Brune and D. Sapienza (personal communication) |
| Saratoga County, NY | Neonate/juvenile | Eft | Barnett et al., 2006; this study |
| Northampton County, PA | Subadult/adult | Eft | McDonald, 1987 |
| Montgomery County, TX | Juvenile/subadult | Eft | This study |
| George Washington National Forest, VA | Unknown | Eft | Uhler et al., 1939 |
| Waukesha County, WI | Neonate/juvenile | Eft | Koch, 2009 |
It is worth noting that most predation events involve neonate or juvenile snakes and all but one record involves efts: the brightly colored sub-adult dispersal stage of Eastern Newts that are up to 10 times more toxic than the adult newts (Brodie, 1968b, Brodie et al., 1974). Records are mapped in Figure 1 and suggest that hognose predation may be widespread and common. Furthermore, feeding trials in captivity suggest that Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes can take multiple efts in a single session. One of us (KEB) has fed up to three efts at a time to captive Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes, where snakes and efts were from the same location in NY; another biologist has fed up to 15 efts to a captive Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes in a single feeding session, where snakes and efts were from the same location in OH (D Sapienza, personal communication).