Xenodon rabdocephalus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Xenodon
Species:
X. rabdocephalus
Binomial name
Xenodon rabdocephalus
(Weid, 1824)
Synonyms[2]
  • Coluber rabdocephalus
    Wied, 1824
  • Xenodon rabdocephalus
    — Fitzinger, 1826
  • Xenodon colubrinus
    Wucherer, 1862
  • Xenodon bertholdi
    Jan, 1863
  • Xenodon angustirostris
    W. Peters, 1864
  • Xenodon suspectus
    Cope 1868
  • Xenodon bipraeoculis
    Cope, 1885
  • Xenodon mexicanus
    H.M. Smith, 1940
  • Xenodon rabdocephalus
    — Liner, 1994

Xenodon rabdocephalus, commonly known as the false fer-de-lance, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Central America and northern South America. There are two recognized subspecies.

Geographic range

X. rabdocephalus is found in southern Mexico in the states of Guerrero, Veracruz, Yucatan and Campeche, through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. In northern South America it is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil where it occurs in the states of Amapá, Rondônia, Pará, Espírito Santo and Bahia.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of X. rabdocephalus is forest in the moist lowlands and the premontane regions,[3] at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).[1]

Description

X. rabdocephalus is a medium-sized snake which reaches a total length (including tail) of 80 cm (31 in). It is mainly brown with a series of brown and grey hourglass-shaped dorsal blotches on the body.[3]

Diet

X. rabdocephalus feeds mainly on frogs and toads,[4] including tadpoles.[1]

Reproduction

X. rabdocephalus is oviparous.[1][2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Xenodon.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lamar, W.; Porras, L.W.; Sasa, M.; Sunyer, J.; Velasco, J.; Cisneros-Heredia, D.F.; Valencia, J.; Gonzales, L.; Catenazzi, A.; Nogueira, C. de C.; Schargel, W.; Rivas, G. (2019). "Xenodon rabdocephalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T198540A2532293. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T198540A2532293.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Species Xenodon rabdocephalus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 Savage JM (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. xx + 934 pp. ISBN 0-226-73537-0.
  4. ↑ Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Xenodon, p. 149).

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Xenodon colubrinus, pp. 146–147).
  • Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Xenodon rabdocephalus, p. 113 + photo on p. 163).
  • Heimes P (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. 572 pp. ISBN 978-3899731002.
  • Jan G, Sordelli F (1866). Iconographie générale des Ophidiens: Dix-neuvième livraison. Paris: J.-B. Baillière et Fils. Index + Plates I-VI. (Xenodon rhabdocephalus [sic] and X. bertholdi, Plate IV). (in French).
  • Smith HM (1940). "Descriptions of New Lizards and Snakes from Mexico and Guatemala". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 53: 55-64. (Xenodon mexicanus, pp. 57–59).
  • Wied M (1824). "Verzeichniss der Amphibien, welche im zweyten Bande der Naturgeschichte Brasiliens vom Prinz Max von Neuwied werden beschreiben werden ". Isis von Oken 14: 661-673. (Coluber rabdocephalus, new species, p. 668). (in German).
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