一項(xiàng)發(fā)表在PNAS雜志上的研究報(bào)告"Hunter–gatherers and other primates as prey, predators, and competitors of snakes"說(shuō),，蛇與包括人類在內(nèi)的靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物之間的關(guān)系的歷史悠久而且很復(fù)雜,，其中靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物是捕食者、被捕食者和競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者,。
這篇論文的主要研究人員Thomas N. Headland 和Harry W. Greene研究了蛇對(duì)非人類靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物,，以及對(duì)過(guò)著沒(méi)有文字的狩獵采集生活方式的20世紀(jì)人類造成的危險(xiǎn)。
科研人員提出了一種假說(shuō),，即廣泛存在的人類對(duì)蛇的恐懼可能反映了這些物種之間共同的長(zhǎng)期進(jìn)化史,，但是由于蛇完整地吞下被捕食者，蛇捕食靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物的化石證據(jù)比較缺乏,。這組作者對(duì)菲律賓的120位Agta Negrito狩獵采集者進(jìn)行了民族志觀察,，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)在1934年到1973年間62位Agta女性和58位男性中的15位在網(wǎng)紋蟒的襲擊后存活下來(lái)，還有6例致命的襲擊,。Agta人還常吃至多長(zhǎng)達(dá)23英尺的蟒蛇——以及幾種蟒蛇捕食的物種,，諸如鹿、野豬和猴——這讓人類成為了蛇的被捕食者,、捕食者和潛在的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者,。這組作者發(fā)現(xiàn),，自然史紀(jì)錄進(jìn)一步揭示出蛇捕食26種非人類靈長(zhǎng)，而許多靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物殺死蛇并且有的時(shí)候吃蛇,。蛇與小動(dòng)物的飲食習(xí)慣的重合也讓靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物和蛇成為了潛在的食物競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手,。
這組作者說(shuō)，這些發(fā)現(xiàn)支持了一個(gè)事實(shí),，即蛇與包括人類在內(nèi)的靈長(zhǎng)類動(dòng)物在共同的進(jìn)化史中有重要的關(guān)系。（生物谷bioon.com）
doi:10.1073/pnas.1115116108
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Hunter–gatherers and other primates as prey, predators, and competitors of snakes
Thomas N. Headlanda,1 and Harry W. Greeneb,1
Relationships between primates and snakes are of widespread interest from anthropological, psychological, and evolutionary perspectives, but surprisingly, little is known about the dangers that serpents have posed to people with prehistoric lifestyles and nonhuman primates. Here, we report ethnographic observations of 120 Philippine Agta Negritos when they were still preliterate hunter–gatherers, among whom 26% of adult males had survived predation attempts by reticulated pythons. Six fatal attacks occurred between 1934 and 1973. Agta ate pythons as well as deer, wild pigs, and monkeys, which are also eaten by pythons, and therefore, the two species were reciprocally prey, predators, and potential competitors. Natural history data document snake predation on tree shrews and 26 species of nonhuman primates as well as many species of primates approaching, mobbing, killing, and sometimes eating snakes. These findings, interpreted within the context of snake and primate phylogenies, corroborate the hypothesis that complex ecological interactions have long characterized our shared evolutionary history. .
