Ninia sebae

Ninia sebae
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Ninia
Species:	N. sebae
Binomial name
Ninia sebae (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)
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 rarely bites humans. ^{[4] [5]}

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]

• Ninia sebae immaculata Schmidt & Rand, 1957
• Ninia sebae morleyiSchmidt & Andrews, 1936
• Ninia sebae punctulata(Bocourt, 1883)
• Ninia sebae sebae(A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)

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]

References

1. 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. Ninia sebae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 6 December 2018.
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

• Bocourt MF (1883). "Études sur les reptiles ". pp. i–xiv, 1–1012. In: Duméril A[HA], Bocourt MF, Mocquard F (1870–1909). Recherches Zoologiques pour servir a l'Histoire de la Faune de l'Amérique Centrale et du Mexique. Paris: Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique. (Impremerie Impériale, printer). (Streptophorus sebae var. punctulata, new variety, pp. 547–548). (in French).
• Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A[-H-A] (1854). Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles. Volume 7. Part 1. Containing the Natural History of the Nonvenomous Snakes]. Paris: Roret. xvi + 780 pp. (Streptophorus sebae, new species, pp. 115–117). (in French).
• Heimes P (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Chimaira. 572 pp. ISBN   978-3899731002.
• Schmidt KP, Andrews EW (1936). "Notes on Snakes from Yucatan". Zoological Series of Field Museum of Natural History20 (18): 167–187. (Ninia sebae morleyi, new subspecies, pp. 169–171).
• Schmidt KP, Rand AS (1957). "Geographic Variation in the Central American Colubrine Snake, Ninia sebae". Fieldiana · Zoology39 (10): 73—84. (Ninia sebae immaculata, new subspecies, pp. 81–82).