Clelia clelia

Clelia clelia
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Clelia
Species:
C. clelia
Binomial name
Clelia clelia
(Daudin, 1803)
Synonyms[3]

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.

Etymology

The subspecific name, groomei, is in honor of Grenadian zoologist John R. Groome.[4]

Common names

Clelia clelia is called doi or duma in the Kwaza language of Rondônia, Brazil.[5]

Geographic range

Clelia clelia is found in Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles (including the island of Trinidad).[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of Clelia clelia is forest at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).[1]

Description

Clelia 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

Clelia clelia is terrestrial. It is primarily nocturnal, but it is also sometimes diurnal.[1]

Eating a brown-banded water snake

Diet

Clelia 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

Clelia clelia is oviparous.[1][3][7]

Subspecies

Clelia clelia has two subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, which are recognized as being valid.[3]

  • Clelia clelia clelia (Daudin, 1803)
  • Clelia clelia groomei Greer, 1965

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

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b c d Species Clelia clelia at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. ^ 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).
  5. ^ Manso, Laura Vicuña Pereira (2013). Dicionário da língua Kwazá. M.A. dissertation. Guajará-Mirim, Brazil: Federal University of Rondônia.
  6. ^ 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).
  7. ^ 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).
  8. ^ a b "Common Mussurana (Clelia clelia) at Reptiles of Ecuador".

Further reading

  • 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).



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