Philodryas baroni

Philodryas baroni
Philodryas baroni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Xenodontinae
Genus: Philodryas
Species: P. baroni
Binomial name
Philodryas baroni
Berg, 1895
Synonyms

[1]

  • Philodryas baroni Berg 1895
  • Rhinodryas königi Werner 1903
  • Philodryas baroni var. fusco-flavescens Serie 1915
  • Chlorosoma baroni Amaral 1929
  • Philodryas baroni - Peters & Orejas-Miranda 1970
  • Philodryas baroni - CeiI 1993
  • Philodryas baroni — Leynaud & Bucher 1999
  • Philodryas baroni — Grazziotin et al. 2012

Philodryas baroni, common name Baron's green racer,[1] is a species of colubrid snake. The Latin name baroni honors Manuel Barón Morlat, who collected the first specimens.[2][3]

Description

Philodryas baroni can reach a total length of about 150–180 centimetres (59–71 in).[4] The males are smaller than the females. The length of the tail is about 30% of the total body length. This species is the longest known in the genus Philodryas. The head is small and elongated, with an extension of the rostral scale, forming a small flexible nasal protuberance more developed in males. The coloration of the body is rather variable.[5] Usually it is green, but there are found specimen tending to blue or brown. The pattern can be uniform or with black longitidinal stripes on the back and on the sides, in the anterior third of the body. The ventral area under the black lateral lines can be white or yellowish-white, sometimes with shades of green or blue.[5] They are oviparous and opisthoglyphous reptiles, i.e. equipped with fangs.

Behavior

Philodryas baroni is a strictly arboreal snake, with an intense activity during the day. It is generally non-aggressive.[4] If they are frightened, they emit a foul-smelling substance from the cloaca.[4] These snakes feed on small mice, small lizards and amphibians. It does not seem to have a powerful venom, however caution is required. The observed effects are limited to edema accompanied by slight burning pain and minimal local bleeding.[4][5]

Distribution

This species can be found in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay.[1] It lives in the forests and in savannah woodlands.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Reptile Database
  2. ↑ Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles
  3. ↑ Berg, C. (1895) Dos reptiles neuvos descritos. Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, 4:189-194.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Squamata
  5. 1 2 3 Philodryas
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