Philodryas baroni

Philodryas baroni, common name Baron's green racer,[1] is a species of mildly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America.

Philodryas baroni
Philodryas baroni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Philodryas
Species:	P. baroni
Binomial name
Philodryas baroni Berg, 1895
Synonyms[1]
Philodryas baroni Berg, 1895 Rhinodryas königi F. Werner, 1903 Philodryas baroni var. fusco-flavescens Serié, 1915 Chlorosoma baroni — Amaral, 1929 Philodryas baroni — J. Peters & Orejas-Miranda, 1970 Philodryas baroni — Freiberg, 1982 Philodryas baroni — Cei, 1993 Philodryas baroni — Leynaud & Bucher, 1999 Philodryas baroni — Grazziotin et al., 2012

Etymology

The Latin specific name, baroni, honors Manuel Barón Morlat, who collected the first specimens.[2][3]

Description

Philodryas baroni can reach a total length (including tail) 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 specimens tending to blue or brown. The pattern can be uniform or with black longitudinal stripes on the back and on the sides, on 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]

Behavior

Philodryas baroni is a strictly arboreal snake, with an intense activity during the day. It is generally non-aggressive.[4] If it is frightened, it emits a foul-smelling substance from the cloaca.[4]

Diet

P. baroni feeds on small mice, small lizards, and amphibians.

Venom

P. baroni is opisthoglyphous, i.e., equipped with rear fangs. 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]

Geographic range

P. baroni can be found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay.[1]

Habitat

P. baroni lives in forests and savannah woodlands.[4]

Reproduction

P. baroni is oviparous.

References

1. "Philodryas baroni ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
2. 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. (Philodryas baroni, p. 17).
3. Berg C (1895). "Dos reptiles neuvos descritos ". Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires 4: 189-194. (Philodryas baroni, new species, pp. 189-191, Figure 1). (in Latin and Spanish).
4. "Philodryas baroni ". Squamata.it.
5. Philodryas Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Biolib
• Animal Diversity
• ITIS
• "Philodryas baroni". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Further reading

• 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. (Philodryas baroni, p. 136).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Philodryas baroni, p. 137 + four photographs on pp. 142–143).