Pliocercus euryzonus

Pliocercus euryzonus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Pliocercus
Species:	P. euryzonus
Binomial name
Pliocercus euryzonus Cope, 1862
Synonyms [2]
Pliocercus euryzonus Cope, 1862 Liophis splendens Jan, 1863 Elapochrus euryzona — Günther, 1893 Urotheca euryzona — Boulenger, 1894

Pliocercus euryzonus, commonly known as Cope's false coral snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is indigenous to southeastern Central America and northwestern South America. There are two recognized subspecies.

Geographic range

P. euryzonus is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. ^[1] The Reptile Database also lists Guatemala and Peru. ^[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of P. euryzonus is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,460 m (4,790 ft). ^[1]

Reproduction

P. euryzonus is oviparous. ^[3]

Subspecies

Including the nominotypical subspecies, two subspecies are recognized as being valid. ^[3]

• Pliocercus euryzonus burghardti H.M. Smith & Chiszar, 1996
• Pliocercus euryzonus euryzonus Cope, 1862

Etymology

The subspecific name, burghardti, is in honor of herpetologist Gordon M. Burghardt. ^[4]

References

1. Solórzano, A.; Nicholson, K.; Chaves, G.; Porras, L.W. (2016). "Pliocercus euryzonus ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T177444A1486938. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T177444A1486938.en . Retrieved 12 November 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. (Urotheca euryzona, p. 182).
3. Pliocercus euryzonus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
4. Smith HM, Chiszar D (2001). "Pliocercus euryzonus Cope, Cope's False Coral Snake". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (740): 1–4.

Further reading

• Cope ED (1862). "Synopsis of the Species of Holcosus and Ameiva, with Diagnoses of new West Indian and South American Colubridæ". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia [14]: 60–81. (Pliocercus euryzonus, new species, pp. 72–73).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN   0-87666-912-7. (Pliocercus euryzonus, p. 107).
• Ray, Julie M.; Knight, James L. (2013). The Venomous Snakes and their Mimics of Panama and Costa Rica: Las Cuebras Venenosas y sus Mímicas de Panamá y Costa Rica. Scotts Valley, California: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 282 pp. ISBN   978-1493586011.
• Savage JM (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. xx + 945 pp. ISBN   0-226-73537-0. (Urotheca euryzona, p. 642).
• Smith HM, Chiszar D (1996). Species-Group Taxa of the False Coral Snake Genus Pliocercus. Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Ramus Publishing, Inc. 112 pp. ISBN   978-0965253505. (Pliocercus euryzonus burghardti, new subspecies, p. 31).