Ninia sebae | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Ninia |
Species: | N. sebae |
Binomial name | |
Ninia sebae | |
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Synonyms [2] | |
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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]
The specific name, sebae, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Albertus Seba. [6]
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.
The preferred natural habitats of N. sebae are forest and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 2,200 m (7,200 ft). [1]
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]
N. sebae preys upon earthworms, [1] [2] slugs, small land snails, and caecilians. [1]
Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 27 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera, and 83 recognized species of New World coral snakes, in two genera. Genetic studies have found that the most basal lineages have origins in Asia, suggesting that the group originated in the Old World. While new world species of both genera are venomous, their bites are seldom lethal; only two confirmed fatalities have been documented in the past 100 years from the genus Micrurus. Meanwhile, snakes of the genus Micruroides have never caused a medically significant bite.
Marie Firmin Bocourt was a French zoologist and artist.
Auguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. His father, André Marie Constant Duméril (1774–1860), was also a zoologist. In 1869 he was elected as a member of the Académie des sciences.
Gabriel Bibron was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. Under the direction of Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (1778–1846), he took part in the Morea expedition to Peloponnese.
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Anolis dollfusianus, also known commonly as the coffee anole and el abaniquillo de cafetal in Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is native Guatemala and Mexico.