Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus

Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus
black-skinned parrot snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Superfamily: Colubroidea
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Leptophis
Species: Leptophis ahaetulla
Subspecies: L. a. nigromarginatus
Trinomial name
Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus
(Günther, 1866)
Synonyms
  • Ahætulla nigromarginata
    Günther, 1866
  • Leptophis nigromarginatus
    Boulenger, 1894
  • Leptophis occidentalis nigromarginatus
    Schmidt & Walker, 1943
  • Thalerophis richardi nigromarginatus
    Oliver, 1948[1][2]

Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus, commonly known as the black-skinned parrot snake, is a snake of the Colubridae family.[3] Endemic to South America, it is one of 12 recognized subspecies of the parrot snake, Leptophis ahaetulla[4][5]

Geographic range

It is found in the Amazon Rainforest in Peru.

Description

Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus (black-skinned parrot snake), Amazon Rainforest, near Nauta, Peru, 2011

L. a. nigromarginatus is a bright green, slender, medium-sized, snake. Adults are typically 60–100 cm (23.5–39.5 in) in total length. Black edges around the outer margin of each scale form a distinctive net-like pattern on the dorsal surface of the animal. The ventral surface has a metallic sheen, and may be green or rust-colored.

Habitat

It is arboreal, living in dense brushy vegetation. It is found in secondary and primary forest.

Behavior

Active during the daytime, it sleeps in vegetation at night.

Diet

It feeds on lizards, frogs, and small birds.

References

  1. 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. (Leptophis nigromarginatus, pp. 112-113 & Plate III., fig. 3.)
  2. The Reptile Database. www. reptile-database.org
  3. Lawson, R.; Slowinski, J. B.; Crother, B. I.; Burbrink, F. T. (2005). "Phylogeny of the Colubroidea (Serpentes): New evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear genes" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37 (2): 581–601. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.07.016. PMID 16172004.
  4. Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist
  5. http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species.php?genus=Leptophis&species=ahaetulla&search_param=%28%28taxon%3D%27Colubrinae%27%29%29

Further reading

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