Mastigodryas heathii explained

Mastigodryas heathii, also known commonly as Heath's tropical racer, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to northwestern South America.

Etymology

The specific name, heathii, is in honor of American physician Edwin Ruthven Heath (1839–1932), who collected herpetological specimens in South America.^[1]

Geographic range

M. heathii is found in Ecuador and Peru

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of M. heathii are desert and forest, at altitudes from sea level to, and it is also found in cultivated areas.

Diet

M. heathii preys upon frogs, lizards, and rodents.

Reproduction

M. heathi is oviparous.

Further reading

• Cope ED (1875). "Report on the Reptiles brought by Professor James Orton from the middle and upper Amazon, and western Peru". Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Second Series 8: 159–183. (Drymobius heathii, new species, pp. 179–180).
• Lehr E, Köhler G, Streit B (2002). "Die Herpetofauna von Mittelperu entlang eines Transektes von der pazifischen Küste bis in die Hochanden (Amphibia et Reptilia) [= The herpetofauna of central Peru along a transect from the Pacific coast to the high Andes (Amphibia and Reptilia)]". Faunistische Abhandlungen, Staatlichen Museum für Tierkunde in Dresden 22 (2): 361–392. (Mastigodryas heathii, new combination). (in German).
• Schmidt KP, Walker WF (1943). "Snakes of the Peruvian Coastal Region". Zoological Series of the Field Museum of Natural History 24 (27): 297–324. (Dryadophis boddaertii heathii, new combination).
• Stuart LC (1939). "A New Name for the Genus Eudryas Fitzinger 1843". Copeia 1939 (1): 55. (Dryadophis heathii, new combination).

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]