Shaw's dark ground snake

Shaw's dark ground snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Xenodontinae
Genus: Liophis
Species: L. melanotus
Binomial name
Liophis melanotus
(Shaw, 1802)[1]
Subspecies
  • L. m. melanotus (Shaw, 1802)
  • L. m. lamari Dixon & Michaud, 1992
  • L. m. nesos Dixon & Michaud, 1992
Synonyms
  • Coluber melanotus Shaw, 1802
  • Coluber (Natrix) raninus
    Merrem, 1820
  • Coluber vittatus Hallowell, 1845
  • Liophis melanonotus — Cope, 1860
  • Dromicus melanotus
    — Garman, 1887
  • Lemiadophis melanotus
    — Barbour, 1916
  • Aporophis crucifer Ahl, 1925
  • Leimadophis melanotus
    — Amaral, 1929
  • Liophis melanotus
    — Schwartz & Henderson, 1991[2]

Shaw's dark ground snake or Shaw's black-backed snake (Liophis melanotus) is a species of colubrid snake endemic to northern South America.[3]

Description

It grows up to a total length (body plus tail) of 43 cm (17 in).[3]

Dorsally, it has a light yellow or pinkish color, with a wide, dark vertebral stripe,[3] which is bordered on each side by a thin whitish stripe, followed by a thin dark stripe. The top of the head is olive, and there is a dark stripe passing through the eye. The upper labials and the venter (underside) of the snake are whitish.[4]

The dorsal scales are smooth, with apical pits, and are arranged in 17 rows at midbody.[4]

Behavior & diet

It actively forages during the day for food, which may include fish, amphibians, and lizards.[3]

Geographic range

Its distribution includes Colombia, Venezuela,[5] and Trinidad and Tobago. It is probably extirpated from Grenada.[3]

References

  1. ↑ ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  2. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999), Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean, Macmillan Education Ltd. London. ix + 134 pp. (Liophis melanotus, p. 108.), ISBN 0-333-69141-5
  4. 1 2 Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xi + 382 pp. + Plates I.- XX. (Liophis melanotus, p. 134.)
  5. ↑ Freiberg, M. 1982. Snakes of South America. T.F.H. Publications. Hong Kong. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Dromicus melanotus, p. 95.)

Further reading


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