Clelia clelia, commonly known as the mussurana, black mussurana or windward cribo, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to the New World.
Clelia clelia | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Clelia |
Species: | C. clelia
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Binomial name | |
Clelia clelia (Daudin, 1803)
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Synonyms[3] | |
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Etymology
editThe subspecific name, groomei, is in honor of Grenadian zoologist John R. Groome.[4]
Common names
editClelia clelia is called doi or duma in the Kwaza language of Rondônia, Brazil.[5]
Geographic range
editClelia clelia is found in Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles (including the island of Trinidad).[3]
Habitat
editThe preferred natural habitat of Clelia clelia is forest at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).[1]
Description
editClelia clelia is a large snake. Adults may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 2.1 m (6.9 ft). Dorsally, adults are uniform black, gray, or olive-gray. Ventrally, adults are yellowish white. Juveniles are pale brown or red, with a black head and a yellow collar.[6]
Behavior
editClelia clelia is terrestrial. It is primarily nocturnal, but it is also sometimes diurnal.[1]
Diet
editClelia clelia preys almost exclusively on snakes, especially venomous snakes of the genera Bothriechis, Bothrops, Crotalus, Lachesis, Micrurus, and Porthidium.[7][8] Despite being primarily ophiophagous, Clelia clelia also includes the following prey items in its diet: lizards, snake eggs, opossums, rodents, birds, small mammals, and snails.[8]
Reproduction
editSubspecies
editClelia clelia has two subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, which are recognized as being valid.[3]
Nota bene: A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Clelia.
References
edit- ^ a b c d Gutiérrez-Cárdenas P, Rivas G, Nogueira C, Gagliardi G, Catenazzi A, Gonzales L, Murphy J (2019). "Clelia clelia". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T197468A2487325.en. Accessed on 24 November 2024
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ a b c d Species Clelia clelia at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Greer AE (1965). "A new subspecies of Clelia clelia (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the island of Grenada". Breviora (223): 1-6. (Clelia clelia groomei, new subspecies).
- ^ Manso, Laura Vicuña Pereira (2013). Dicionário da língua Kwazá. M.A. dissertation. Guajará-Mirim, Brazil: Federal University of Rondônia.
- ^ Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Oxyrhopus clœlia, pp. 108-110).
- ^ a b Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Clelia clelia, pp. 30, 92-93, 128-129).
- ^ a b "Common Mussurana (Clelia clelia) at Reptiles of Ecuador".
Further reading
edit- Daudin FM (1803). Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles ... Tome sixième [Volume 6]. Paris: F. Dufart. 447 pp. (Coluber clelia, new species, p. 330). (in French).
- Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Clelia clelia, pp. 180–181).