Ninia sebae

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Ninia sebae
Ninia-sebae.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Ninia
Species:
N. sebae
Binomial name
Ninia sebae
Ninia sebae Map.jpg
Synonyms [2]
  • Streptophorus sebae
    A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
  • Ninia sebae
    Garman, 1884

Ninia sebae, commonly known as the redback coffee snake [2] or the red coffee snake, [3] is a species of small terrestrial snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to southeastern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica. [1] Although it resembles some venomous coral snakes in color and size, it is not venomous and seldom bites humans. [4] [5]

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, sebae, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Albertus Seba. [6]

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. [2]

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

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of N. sebae are forest and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 2,200 m (7,200 ft). [1]

Behavior

Coffee snakes (species in the genus Ninia) are thought to rely on concealment, flight and intimidation to avoid predation. [3] These snakes were observed either flattening their entire bodies when alarmed, [7] or remaining motionless in whatever position they were discovered. [8] In a more recent study these snakes, when touched, displayed a flattened head and neck, and raised their anterior third or half. [3]

Diet

N. sebae preys upon earthworms, [1] [2] slugs, small land snails, and caecilians. [1]

Reproduction

N. sebae is oviparous. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Chaves, G.; Köhler, G.; Nicholson, K.; Porras, L.W. (2013). "Ninia sebae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T198388A2523671. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T198388A2523671.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ninia sebae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 6 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Greene, Harry W. (1975). "Ecological observations on the red coffee snake, Ninia sebae, in southern Veracruz, Mexico". The American Midland Naturalist. 93 (2): 478–484. doi:10.2307/2424185. JSTOR   2424185.
  4. "Ninia sebae ". The Encyclopedia of Life. http://eol.org/pages/791350/overview.
  5. Savage, Jay M. (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 934 pp. ISBN   0-226-73537-0. (Ninia sebae, pp. 620-622 + Plate 388).
  6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ninia sebae, p. 240).
  7. Dunn ER (1935). "The snakes of the genus Ninia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 21 (1): 9–12. Bibcode:1935PNAS...21....9R. doi: 10.1073/pnas.21.1.9 . PMC   1076518 . PMID   16577660.
  8. Alvarez del Toro, M. (1960). Los Reptiles de Chiapas (1st ed.). Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México: Instituto de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas. 204 pp. (in Spanish).

Further reading