Oxyrhopus guibei

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Oxyrhopus guibei
Falsa-coral - Oxyrhopus guibei abrindo a boca.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Oxyrhopus
Species:
O. guibei
Binomial name
Oxyrhopus guibei
Hoge & Romano, 1977
Synonyms [2]
  • Oxyrhopus trigeminus guibei
    Hoge & Romano, 1977
  • Oxyrhopus guibei
    Zaher & Caramaschi, 1992

Oxyrhopus guibei is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America. It is often called the false coral snake, [3] [4] [5] but this common name can refer to any of a long list of other species, genera, and even entire families of snakes. [6] [7] Many nonvenomous snakes have evolved coloration that mimics that of venomous true coral snakes, a trait which helps them avoid predation. [8]

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, guibei, is in honor of French herpetologist Jean Guibé. [9]

Geographic range

O. guibei is native to central sections of South America, in parts of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. [2]

Conservation status

The species O. guibei has been described as common [4] to abundant. [3]

Description

O. guibei can reach 1 m (3.3 ft) [10] to 1.25 m (4.1 ft) in total length (including tail). [11] Females can reach much larger sizes than males. [5]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of O. guibei is forest, [1] including forest edges and open areas. The snake is sometimes seen near human activity and habitation, for example, on farms and in backyards. [3]

Behavior

O. guibei is mostly nocturnal, but is sometimes out basking during the day. [11] It spends most of its time on the ground, [3] but it will climb trees at times. [10]

Diet

The diet of O. guibei includes rodents, lizards, and other small animals. Rodent prey items include rats (Rattus sp.), the hairy-tailed bolo mouse (Necromys lasiurus), the house mouse (Mus musculus), the small vesper mouse (Calomys laucha), [11] the delicate vesper mouse (Calomys tener), and hocicudos ( Oxymycterus sp.). [12] It will eat the lizard Tropidurus itambere and it has been observed taking white-tipped dove nestlings (Leptotila sp.). [11] Lizards it will swallow alive, but rodents it often constricts first. [13]

Reproduction

The female O. guibei lays eggs year-round, [3] but male and female reproductive activity slows around the end of the rainy season. [5] Clutch sizes range from about 3 to 20, [5] with an average size of about 11. [3] Longer females lay more eggs. [5] Eggs are laid in nest sites such as cavities in rock piles and abandoned rabbit burrows. [3] The female abandons the eggs once they are laid. [10]

Enemies

Predators of the species O. guibei include the laughing falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans), a bird which specializes in snakes, and Erythrolamprus aesculapii , another species of false coral snake. It has also been observed in the diet of the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), which readily eats snakes, including venomous species. [4]

Defensive behavior

O. guibei performs defensive behaviors when threatened, such as "brusque" thrashing, [10] staying still or rushing to escape, compressing or inflating its body, coiling, hiding its head, or producing a cloacal discharge. [11]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Oxyrhopus petolarius</i> Species of snake

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<i>Erythrolamprus aesculapii</i> Species of snake

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<i>Oxyrhopus melanogenys</i> Species of snake

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<i>Philodryas olfersii</i> Species of snake

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<i>Oxyrhopus trigeminus</i> Species of snake

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References

  1. 1 2 Scrocchi G, Arzamendia V, Fitzgerald L, Giraudo A, Williams J (2017). "Oxyrhopus guibei ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T15179489A15179492. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T15179489A15179492.en. Downloaded on 23 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Oxyrhopus guibei ". The Reptile Database.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Braz, Henrique; Manço, Daniel De Granville (2011). "Natural nests of the false-coral snake Oxyrhopus guibei in southeastern Brazil". Herpetology Notes4: 187-189.
  4. 1 2 3 Tozetti, Alexandro M. et al. (2004). "Oxyrhopus guibei (False Coral Snake). Predation". Herpetological Review35 (2): 179.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Marques, Otavio; Pizzatto, Lígia (2002). "Reproductive biology of the false coral snake Oxyrhopus guibei (Colubridae) from southeastern Brazil". Amphibia-Reptilia. 23 (4): 495–504. doi: 10.1163/15685380260462392 .
  6. "Aniliidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  7. "Erythrolamprus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  8. Brodie, E.D. Jr.; Janzen, Fredric J. (1995). "Experimental studies of Coral Snake mimicry: Generalized avoidance of ringed snake patterns by free-ranging avian predators". Functional Ecology9: 186-190. Archived 2014-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Guibé", p. 111.)
  10. 1 2 3 4 Kraus JE (2005). Fauna and flora of the campus of the Cidade Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira. EdUSP. 2005: 70.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Sazima I, Abe AS (1991). "Habits of five Brazilian snakes with coral-snake pattern, including a summary of defensive tactics". Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment26: 159-64. Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Alencar, Laura R.V. et al. (2009). "Oxyrhopus guibei (False Coralsnake). Diet". Herpetological Review40 (3): 357-358. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Andrade, Rogério de Oliveira; Silvano, Renato A. Matias (1996). "Feeding behavior and diet of the Oxyrhopus guibei Hoge & Romano (Serpentes, Colubridae)". Revista Brasileira de Zoologia13 (1): 143-150.

Further reading