Mastigodryas boddaerti

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Mastigodryas boddapoo
Mastigodryas boddaerti02.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Mastigodryas
Species:
M. boddaerti
Binomial name
Mastigodryas boddaerti
(Sentzen, 1796)
Synonyms [2] [3]
  • Coluber boddaertii
    Sentzen, 1796
  • Herpetodryas boddaertii
    — Schlegel, 1837
  • Drymobius boddaertii
    — Cope, 1860
  • Eudryas boddaertii
    — Stuart, 1933
  • Dryadophis boddaerti
    — Stuart, 1939
  • Mastigodryas boddaerti
    — Gorzula & Señaris, 1999

Mastigodryas boddaerti, commonly known as Boddaert's tropical racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to tropical South America including Trinidad and Tobago. [3] [4]

Contents

Distribution

M. boddaerti occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. [3] [5]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of M. boddaerti is forest, at altitudes of 24–2,600 m (79–8,530 ft). [1]

Description

M. boddaerti changes coloration ontogenetically. Juveniles from Guyana have a brown dorsum with grayish tan bands, with white spots ventrolaterally on anterior ends of the tan bands. The chin and throat are white, with dark brown irregular spots. The venter is tan-colored. Adults are nearly uniform brown dorsally, with traces of bands anteriorly. There is a lateral light tan stripe on the anterior half of the body. The venter is light gray with darker gray smudges on the throat. [5] Individuals from Brazilian Amazonas measured up to 109 centimetres (3 ft 7 in) in snout–vent length. [6]

Behavior

M. boddaerti is diurnal and mainly terrestrial, but it will occasionally climb low vegetation. [1]

Diet

M. boddaerti feeds on young birds, frogs, lizards, and mice. [4] [7] Specimens from Brazilian Amazonas fed mostly on lizards, followed by mammals and frogs. [6]

Reproduction

M. boddaerti is oviparous. [1] [3]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies. [3]

Etymology

The specific name, boddaerti, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert. [8] The subspecific names, dunni and ruthveni, are in honor of American herpetologists Emmett Reid Dunn and Alexander G. Ruthven, respectively.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rivas, G.; Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, P.; Valencia, J.; Gonzales, L.; Nogueira, C.; Murphy, J. (2019). "Mastigodryas boddaerti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019 e.T203299A2763506. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T203299A2763506.en . Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ↑ 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. (Drymobius boddaertii, pp. 11-14).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Mastigodryas boddaerti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 27 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN   1-58544-116-3.
  5. 1 2 Cole CJ, Townsend CR, Reynolds RP, MacCulloch RD, Lathrop A (2013). "Amphibians and reptiles of Guyana, South America: Illustrated keys, annotated species accounts, and a biogeographic synopsis". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 125 (4): 317–578. doi:10.2988/0006-324X-125.4.317. S2CID   86665287.
  6. 1 2 Siqueira, Débora M.; Nascimento, Loana P.; Santos-Costa, Maria Cristina Dos (2012). "Feeding biology of Boddaert's tropical racer, Mastigodryas boddaerti (Serpentes, Colubridae) from the Brazilian Amazon". South American Journal of Herpetology. 7 (3): 226–232. doi:10.2994/057.007.0304. S2CID   85848081.
  7. ↑ "Mastigodryas boddaerti (Neotropical Racer)" (PDF). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago. UWI.
  8. ↑ Beolens B; Watkins M; Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 29. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5.

Further reading

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