Oxyrhopus petolarius explained

Oxyrhopus petolarius, commonly known as the forest flame snake, is a species of mildly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Central and South America. There are three recognized subspecies.

Taxonomy and nomenclature

According to Savage (2011) the correct scientific name should be Oxyrhopus petolarius.^[1]

Geographic range

O. petolarius is found in central and northern South America, including Trinidad and Tobago.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of O. petolarius are forest and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 2000m (7,000feet).

Description

Adults of O. petolarius may attain a total length of 91cm (36inches), which includes a tail 22cm (09inches) long.

Coloration is variable. It usually consists of some combination of red and black rings or crossbands. In some individuals the light-colored crossbands are white instead of red on the anterior part of the body.

The dorsal scales are smooth, with apical pits, and are arranged in 19 rows at midbody.

Venom

O. petolarius is rear-fanged, and its venom is extremely toxic to anole lizards.

Diet

O. petolarius feeds on lizards, frogs, other amphibians, tadpoles, small rodents, other small mammals, birds and their eggs, and probably other snakes.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Reproduction

O. petolarius is oviparous.

Subspecies

Some authorities recognize three subspecies of O. petolarius, including the nominotypical subspecies.

• Oxyrhopus petolarius digitalis (Reuss, 1834)
• Oxyrhopus petolarius petola (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Oxyrhopus petolarius sebae A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854^[5]

Nota bene

A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Oxyrhopus.

Etymology

The subspecific name, sebae, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Albertus Seba.^[6]

Further reading

• Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A[-H-A] (1854). Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles. Volume 7. Part 2. Containing the Natural Histories of the Venomous Snakes]. Paris: Roret. xii + pp. 781–1536. (Oxyrhopus petolarius, pp. 1033–1036). (in French).
• Linnaeus C (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Coluber petola, new species, p. 225; Coluber petolarius, new species, p. 225). (in Latin).
• Reuss A (1834). "Zoologische Miscellen. Reptilien, Ophidier ". Mus. Senckenbergiana, Frankfurt 1: 129–162. (Coluber digitalis, new species, p. 148 + Plate IX, figure 1). (in German).
• MacCulloch RD, Lathrop A, Kok PJR, Ernst R, Kalamandeen M (2009). "The genus Oxyrhopus (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae) in Guyana: morphology, distributions and comments on taxonomy". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 49 (36): 487–495.

External links

• Pictures at ADW

Notes and References

1. Savage JM. Jay M. Savage. The correct species-group name for an Oxyrhopus (Squamata: Dipsadidae) variously called Coluber petalarius, C. pethola, C. petola, or C. petolarius by early authors. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 2011. 124. 3. 223–225. 10.2988/11-06.1. 85938790 .
2. Book: Boos, Hans E.A.. The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago . College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. xvi + 328 pp.. 2001. 1-58544-116-3.
3. Web site: Oxyrhopus petolarius (False Coral Snake). Sta.uwi.edu. 9 April 2022.
4. Web site: Forest Flame-Snake (Oxyrhopus petolarius) .
5. [:es:Marcos Abraham Freiberg|Freiberg M]
6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Oxyrhopus petola sebae, p. 240).