Caraiba

Caraiba
C. andreae morenoi
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Dipsadinae
Genus:	Caraiba Zaher, Grazziotin, Cadle, R. Murphy, Moura-Leite & Bonatto, 2009
Species:	C. andreae
Binomial name
Caraiba andreae (J.T. Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862)
Synonyms [2]
List Liophis andreae J.T. Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862 Dromicus cubensis Garman, 1887 Leimadophis andreae — Schwartz & Ogren, 1956 Dromicus andreae — Thomas & Garrido, 1967 Antillophis andreai — Schwartz & Henderson, 1991 Antillophis andreae — Kunz, 2005

Caraiba is a monotypic genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus contains the sole species Caraiba andreae, also known commonly as the black and white racer or the Cuban lesser racer, which is endemic to Cuba. There are six recognized subspecies. ^[2]

Taxonomy

The genus name, Caraiba, is a reference to the Caribbean. The specific name, andreae, is in honor of a Danish ship's master, "Captain Andrea", who collected the holotype. ^[3]

Subspecies

The following six subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. ^[2]

• Caraiba andreae andreae(Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862)
• Caraiba andreae melopyrrha(Thomas & Garrido, 1967)
• Caraiba andreae morenoi(Garrido, 1973)
• Caraiba andreae nebulatus(Barbour, 1916)
• Caraiba andreae orientalis(Barbour & Ramsden, 1919)
• Caraiba andreae peninsulae(Schwartz & Thomas, 1960)

Nota bene : A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Caraiba.

Distribution and habitat

C. andreae is found throughout Cuba. It is also found on Isla de la Juventud (formerly called Isle of Pines), and on other smaller offshore islands. ^[2]

The preferred natural habitats of C. andreae are shrubland and forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,100 m (3,600 ft). ^[1]

Description

Dorsally, C. andreae is black, with a dorso-lateral series of yellow spots on each side. The upper labials are white. Ventrally it is white, with black markings. Adults may attain a total length of 65.5 cm (25.8 in), which includes a tail 21.5 cm (8.5 in) long. ^[4]

Reproduction

C. andreae is oviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Fong A (2017). "Caraiba andreae ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T176340A71742798. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T176340A71742798.en. Downloaded on 28 September 2018.
2. Caraiba andreae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 28 December 2016.
3. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Antillophis andteae, p. 9).
4. Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Liophis andreæ, pp. 140–141).

Further reading

• Barbour T (1916). "The Reptiles and Amphibians of the Isle of Pines". Annals of the Carnegie Museum10 (1–2): 297–308 + Plate XXVIII. (Leimadophis nebulatus, new species, pp. 305–306 + Plate XXVIII, figures 1–2).
• Barbour T, Ramsden CT (1919). "The Herpetology of Cuba". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College47 (2): 69–213 + Plates 1–15. (Leimadophis andreae orientalis, new subspecies, p. 196).
• Garrido OH (1973). "Nuevas subespecies de reptiles para Cuba". Torreia, nueva serie30: 1–31. (Antillophis andreae morenoi, new subspecies, p. 18). (in Spanish).
• Reinhardt J, Lütken CF (1862). "Bildrag til det vestindiske Öriges og navnligen til de dansk-vestindiske Öers Herpetologie". Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den naturhistoriske Forening i Kjöbenhavn1862 (10–18): 153–291. (Liophis andreæ, new species, pp. 214–216). (in Danish & Latin).
• Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN   978-0813010496.
• Schwartz A, Thomas R (1960). "Four New Snakes (Tropidophis, Dromicus, Alsophis) from the Isla de Piños and Cuba". Herpetologica16 (2): 73–90. (Dromicus andreae peninsulae, new subspecies, p. 81).
• Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Antillophis andreai, pp. 174–175).
• Thomas R, Garrido OH (1967). "A New Subspecies of Dromicus andreae (Serpentes, Colubridae)". Annals of Carnegie Museum39: 219–226. (Dromicus andreae melopyrrha, new subspecies, pp. 219–222, Figure 1d).
• Zaher H, Grazziotin FG, Cadle JE, Murphy RW, Moura-Leite JC, Bonatto SL (2009). "Molecular phylogeny of advanced snakes (Serpentes, Caenophidia) with an emphasis on South American Xenodontines: a revised classification and descriptions of new taxa". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo49 (11): 115–153. (Caraiba, new genus, p. 148). (in English, with an abstract in Portuguese).