Lacépède's ground snake
| Lacépède's ground snake | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Dipsadinae |
| Genus: | Erythrolamprus |
| Species: | E. cursor
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| Binomial name | |
| Erythrolamprus cursor (Lacépède,1789)
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| Synonyms | |
Lacépède's ground snake(Erythrolamprus cursor) is aspeciesofsnakein theColubridaefamily.It isendemicto Caribbean island ofMartinique.Little is known of it scientifically, and few photographs exist.
Geographic range
[edit]It has been reported onDiamond Rock(Rocher du Diamant), which may be the last refuge for the species.
Taxonomy
[edit]The French naturalistBernard Germain Étienne de la Ville, Comte de Lacépèdefirst described it in 1789 in hisHistoire Naturelledes Quadrupèdes Ovipares et de Serpens.
Erythrolamprus cursorbelongs to thegenusErythrolamprus,which contains over 50 species. The genusErythrolamprusbelongs to thesubfamilyDipsadinae,which is sometimes referred to as the family Dipsadidae. The relationships ofErythrolamprusspecies located in northern South America can be shown in thecladogrambelow, based on molecular DNA analysis:[3]
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Behavior
[edit]The snake is diurnal and lives on the ground, usually hidden underleavesand wood. It huntsreptilesandamphibians.
Conservation status
[edit]The importation to Martinique of other species of snakes, and ofmongoosesto control them, have driven it to near extinction.
References
[edit]- ^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 cursor,pp. 139-140.)
- ^The Reptile Database. reptile-database.org.
- ^Murphy, John C.; Braswell, Alvin L.; Charles, Stevland P.; Auguste, Renoir J.; Rivas, Gilson A.; Borzée, Amaël; Lehtinen, Richard M.; Jowers, Michael J. (15 Jan 2019)."A new species ofErythrolamprusfrom the oceanic island of Tobago (Squamata, Dipsadidae) ".ZooKeys(817): 131–157.doi:10.3897/zookeys.817.30811.
External links
[edit]- Breuil, M. 1996.Erythrolamprus cursor.2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.Downloaded on 28 July 2007.
Further reading
[edit]- Lacepède, B.G.E. 1789.Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares et de Serpens.Vol. 2. Paris: Imprimerie du Roi, Hôtel de Thou. 671 pp. (Coluber cursor,p. 96.)