Mexican night snake

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Mexican night snake
Elaphe flavirufa.jpg

Mexican night snake ( Pseudelaphe flavirufa )

Systematics
Subordination : Snakes (serpentes)
Superfamily : Adder-like and viper-like (Colubroidea)
Family : Adders (Colubridae)
Subfamily : True snakes (Colubrinae)
Genre : Night snakes
Type : Mexican night snake
Scientific name of the  genus
Pseudelaphe
Mertens & Rosenberg , 1943
Scientific name of the  species
Pseudelaphe flavirufa
( Cope , 1867)

The Mexican Night Snake ( Pseudelaphe flavirufa , Syn. : Elaphe flavirufa ) is a family of snakes belonging (Colubridae) snake .

features

In general, the Mexican night snake has a pattern of large brown to reddish-brown, dark-bordered spots on the back and narrower spots laterally , on a yellowish to yellowish-gray basic color. It has a pale yellowish to yellowish-gray ventral side , which is usually speckled dark.

The snakes are 120 to 150 cm long, specimens from 176 to 185 cm can occur. The long tail measures 20 to 28% of the body length. The elongated head is clearly separated from the body. Noticeable are their large protruding eyes, whose pupils narrow to very small elliptical openings under the influence of bright light. The iris is grayish. The color of the tongue varies from reddish to reddish brown.

The Mexican night snake has 27 dorsal rows of scales in the middle of the body. The number of abdominal scales ( ventral shields ) varies depending on sex between 259 in males and 263 in females. The anal scale ( scutum anale ) and the subcaudale ( scutum subcaudale ) are divided. 9 to 10 supralabials ( scutum supralabiale ), the 5th and 6th or the 6th and 7th touch the eye socket ( orbit ).

distribution and habitat

Its distribution area is in Central America in the Mexican states of Yucatan , Puebla and Tamaulipas , in Belize , Guatemala , Honduras and Nicaragua . The snake can be found at heights of up to 500 m. The nominate form lives in Tamaulipas in semi-evergreen forests, in semi-savannas and thorn-bush savannas . Pseudelaphe flavirufa pardalinus occurs in shrub areas in rainforests, in evenly moist deciduous forests and in swampy areas. In the northern parts of the Yucatán Peninsula, the species is found in dry thorn bush areas and tropical forests interspersed with eroded, weathered limestone formations.

Subspecies

The Reptile Database names the following four subspecies:

  • Pseudelaphe flavirufa flavirufa
  • Pseudelaphe flavirufa matudai ( Smith , 1941)
  • Pseudelaphe flavirufa pardalinus ( Peters , 1868) - Honduran night snake
  • Pseudelaphe flavirufa polystichus ( Smith & Williams , 1966)

Original publications

  • Edward Drinker Cope: Fifth Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America. In: Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Volume 18, 1866, p. 319 ( digitized version ).
  • Otto Kröber : The Pityocerini (Tabanidae) of the neotropical region. In: Zoologischer Anzeiger. Volume 88, 1930, pp. 305-312.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Klaus-Dieter Schulz, André Entzeroth: A monograph of the colubrid snakes of the genus Elaphe Fitzinger. Koeltz Scientific Books, Königstein 1996, ISBN 3-87429-388-2 , pp. 273-275.
  2. ↑ a b c Perez-higareda et al. : Serpientes de la Region de Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 2007, ISBN 978-970-32-4371-6 , pp. 65-66.
  3. ↑ a b Pseudelaphe in The Reptile Database

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