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Barbour's tropical racer

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Barbour's tropical racer
Picture taken in Lance Aux Epines, Grenada, West Indies.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Mastigodryas
Species:
M. bruesi
Binomial name
Mastigodryas bruesi
(Barbour, 1914)
Synonyms[2]

Barbour's tropical racer (Mastigodryas bruesi) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Caribbean.

Etymology

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The specific name, bruesi, is in honor American entomologist Charles Thomas Brues, who was one of the collectors of the holotype.[3]

Geographic range

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M. bruesi is native to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.[1][2]

Description

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M. bruesi can reach a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about 83 cm (33 in). Dorsally, it is blue-gray to brown, with lighter lateral stripes. Ventrally, it is whitish.[2]

Behavior and diet

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M. bruesi is diurnal, hunting frogs and lizards.[1]

Habitat

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The preferred natural habitat of M. bruesi is forest, both mesic and xeric.[1] It can be found on the ground, and in bushes, where it sleeps at night.[citation needed]

Reproduction

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M. bruesi is oviparous.[1][2]

Locality records

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M. bruesi has been recorded in the southwest corner of Saint Vincent and is widespread all over the Grenadines islands.[citation needed] It is also found on the southern half of Grenada, which is the farthest south it is distributed.[citation needed] It has been introduced to Barbados,[1] probably around thirty years ago, where it has been incorrectly identified as Liophis perfuscus.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Henderson, R.W.; Powell, R. (2016). "Mastigodryas bruesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T203300A2763513. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T203300A2763513.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Species Mastigodryas bruesi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Mastigodryas bruesi, p. 41).

Sources

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Further reading

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  • Barbour T (1914). "A Contribution to the Zoögeography of the West Indies, with Especial Reference to Amphibians and Reptiles". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, Harvard College 44 (2): 205-359 + one plate. (Alsophis bruesi, new species, pp. 337–338).
  • Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN 978-0813010496. (Mastigodryas bruesi, p. 626).
  • 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. (Mastigodras bruesi, p. 189).
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