DOI: 10.5061/dryad.v6wwpzh50
title: Data from: Citizen science and color pattern analysis indicate unreported Batesian mimicry between Neotropical snakes

description: Batesian mimics decrease their chance of predation by their resemblance to
 different, dangerous or unpalatable species but this relationship is often
 inferred without quantitative approaches. Snakes are notorious Batesian
 mimics, especially the Neotropical genus Xenodon, which comprises species
 that are putative mimics of venomous snakes such as coral snakes (genus
 Micrurus) and lanceheads (or ‘fer-de-lance’, genus Bothrops). Herein, we
 propose that Xenodon severus is a batesian mimic of the sympatric and
 highly venomous Amazonian bushmaster (Lachesis muta), the longest viper in
 the world, and not of lanceheads (Bothrops spp.). We compiled all
 available photographs of X. severus from citizen science platforms and
 published literature to test this mimicry through a quantitative dorsal
 color pattern analysis between this species and both L. muta and a
 lancehead Bothrops brazili. We classified georeferrenced photographs as
 potential ‘mimic’ or ‘non-mimic’ and tested whether ‘mimics’ were found on
 average closer to L. muta’s range centroid than ‘non-mimics’. The color
 pattern analysis showed that X. severus is more similar to L. muta than to
 B. brazili. Furthermore, ‘mimics’ were significantly closer to the
 centroid of L. muta. Our results suggest that Xenodon severus is likely a
 mimic of Lachesis muta and that this relationship may vary across their
 distribution. Our findings highlight the significant role of citizen
 science platforms in assessing ecological relationships and the importance
 of using quantitative methods such as dorsal color pattern analysis to
 test mimicry.
description: # Data from: Citizen science and color pattern analysis indicate
 unreported Batesian mimicry between Neotropical snakes
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.v6wwpzh50](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.v6wwpzh50) ## Description of the data and file structure Data (photographs of *Xenodon severus*) was collected from published literature and citizen science platforms, up until February 2024 ### Files and variables #### File: SuppMat1\_localities.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * id: unique ID of record * lat: latitude * long: longitude * loc: general locality * country: country * Lachesis_mimic: is this individual a mimic of Lachesis muta * age: adult or juvenil * obs: any noteworthy observations * link: link to photograph * photo: photo ID * dist_Lmuta_km: distance (in km) to centroid of Lachesis muta #### File: FigS1\_Xenodon\_CORRECTED.png **Description:** **Figure S1**. Examples of *Xenodon severus *individuals that represent mimics (above) and non-mimics (below) of A) *Lachesis muta, *Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil (photo by Paulo Bernarde): B) Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil (photo by Marcio Martins), C) Rio Ituxi, Amazonas, Brazil (photo by Laurie Vitt), D) Puerto Libre, Napo, Ecuador (b9b474cc-b069-11e3-8cfe-90b11c41863e, University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute Herpetology Collection) and E) Rio Jauaperi, Roraima, Brazil (photo by Laurie Vitt). ## Access information Data was derived from the following sources: * Flickr * iNaturalist * Published literature