Atractus gaigeae explained
Atractus gaigeae, also known commonly as Gaige's ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Ecuador.
Etymology
The specific name, gaigeae, is in honor of American herpetologist Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige.[1]
Geographic range
A. gaigeae is found in eastern Ecuador, in the Amazon Basin,
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of A. gaigeae is forest, at altitudes of .
Description
A small species, A gaigeae may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of in females, and in males. The tail is short, about 10% SVL in females, and about 14% SVL in males.
Reproduction
A. gaigeae is oviparous.
Further reading
- Soini, Pekka (1977). "The Reptiles of the Upper Amazon Basin, Iquitos Region, Peru, Part 2: Crocodilians, Turtles, and Snakes". Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology (4): 59–154. (Atractus collaris gaigeae, new combination).
- Passos P, Prudente ALC, Ramos LO, Caicedo-Portilla JR, Lynch JD (2018). "Species delimitations in the Atractus collaris complex (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)". Zootaxa 4392 (3): 491–520.
- Savage JM (1955). "Descriptions of New Colubrid Snakes, Genus Atractus, from Ecuador". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 68: 11–20. (Atractus gaigeae, new species, pp. 12–14).
- Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D (2019). "Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich online portal, with dynamic checklists and photographic guides". Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1) [General Section]: 209–229 (e178).
Notes and References
- [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]