Mastigodryas boddaerti

Mastigodryas boddaerti
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Mastigodryas
Species:	M. boddaerti
Binomial name
	Mastigodryas boddaerti; (Sentzen, 1796)
Synonyms[1][2]
	Coluber boddaertii ; Sentzen, 1796; Herpetodryas boddaertii ; — Schlegel, 1837; Drymobius boddaertii ; — Cope, 1860; Eudryas boddaertii ; — Stuart, 1933; Dryadophis boddaerti ; — Stuart, 1939; Mastigodryas boddaerti ; — Gorzula & Señaris, 1999;

Mastigodryas boddaerti, commonly known as the Boddaert's tropical racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to tropical South America including Trinidad and Tobago.[2][3]

Distribution

Mastigodryas boddaerti occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.[2][4]

Description

Mastigodryas boddaerti changes coloration ontogenetically. Juveniles from Guyana have a brown dorsum with grayish tan bands, with white spots ventrolaterally on anterior ends of the tan bands. The chin and throat are white, with dark brown irregular spots. The venter is tan-colored. Adults are nearly uniform brown dorsally, with traces of bands anteriorly. There is a lateral light tan stripe on the anterior half of the body. The venter is light gray with darker gray smudges on the throat.[4] Individuals from Brazilian Amazonas measured up to 109 cm (43 in) in snout–vent length.[5]

Diet

M. boddaerti feeds on young birds, lizards, and mice.[3] Specimens from Brazilian Amazonas fed mostly on lizards, followed by mammals and frogs.[5]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

Mastigodryas boddaerti boddaerti (Sentzen, 1796)
Mastigodryas boddaerti dunni (Stuart, 1933)
Mastigodryas boddaerti ruthveni (Stuart, 1933)

Etymology

The specific name, boddaerti, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert.[6] The subspecific names, dunni and ruthveni, are in honor of American herpetologists Emmett Reid Dunn and Alexander G. Ruthven, respectively.

References

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. (Drymobius boddaertii, pp. 11-14).
Mastigodryas boddaerti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 August 2015.
Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.
Cole CJ, Townsend CR, Reynolds RP, MacCulloch RD, Lathrop A (2013). "Amphibians and reptiles of Guyana, South America: Illustrated keys, annotated species accounts, and a biogeographic synopsis". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 125 (4): 317–578. doi:10.2988/0006-324X-125.4.317.
Siqueira, Débora M.; Nascimento, Loana P.; Santos-Costa, Maria Cristina Dos (2012). "Feeding biology of Boddaert's tropical racer, Mastigodryas boddaerti (Serpentes, Colubridae) from the Brazilian Amazon". South American Journal of Herpetology. 7 (3): 226–232. doi:10.2994/057.007.0304.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Mastigodryas boddaerti, p. 29).