Micrurus putumayensis
| Micrurus putumayensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Micrurus |
| Species: | M. putumayensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Micrurus putumayensis Lancini, 1962 | |
 | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Micrurus putumayensis, also known commonly as the Putumayo coral snake, cobra coral do Putumayo in Brazilian Portuguese, and coral putumayense in South American Spanish, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to northwestern South America.[2]
Description
Unlike most New World coral snakes which are tricolored, Micrurus putumayensis is bicolored. Its color pattern consists of alternating rings of only black and yellow. There are no red rings present. Both the black rings and the yellow rings are very wide. The black rings are 8–35 dorsal scales and ventral scales wide, and the yellow rings are 4–11 dorsals and ventrals wide. The dorsal scales within the yellow rings are heavily marked with black. The black marking is at the base of each scale, with the tip and edges being yellow, which is the opposite of in other species of Micrurus. Males have 7–11 black rings on the body, and females have 9–14. Males have 2–3 black rings on the tail, and females have two.[3]
Males have 197–208 ventrals and 47–51 subcaudals, and femaless have 216–226 ventrals and 32–35 caudals.[3]
Medium-sized for the genus Micrurus, adults of M. putumayensis usually have a total length (tail included) of approximately 70 cm (28 in). The maximum recorded total length is 80.5 cm (31.7 in).[3]
Geographic distribution
Micrurus putumayensis is found in northwestern Brazil, southeastern Colombia, and northeastern Peru.[1][2]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of Micrurus putumayensis is forest in the northwestern Amazon basin, at elevations of 60–120 m (200–390 ft).[1]
Behavior
Micrurus putumayensis is terrestrial and diurnal.[1]
Diet
Micrurus putumayensis preys on nonvenomous snakes of the family Colubridae.[3]
Reproduction
Taxonomy
This species was originally described in early 1962 as a species new to science by Venezuelan herpetologist Abdem R. Lancini. At that time he gave it the scientific name Micrurus schmidti. Unfortunately, that name was preoccupied by Micrurus schmidti Dunn, 1940. To resolve this conflict, Lancini published a second scientific paper, later in 1962, in which he coined the replacement name Micrurus putumayensis. Dunn's Micrurus schmidti is a synonym of Micrurus stewarti Barbour & Amaral, 1928.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Perez, P.; Gagliardi, G.; Nogueira, C. (2019). "Micrurus putumayensis ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019 e.T44582033A44582038. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T44582033A44582038.en. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Species Micrurus putumayensis at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Roze, J.A. (1996). Coral Snakes of the Americas: Biology, Identification, and Venoms. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89464-847-0. xii + 328 pp., 38 maps, 63 color photographs, 49 color pattern drawings. (Micrurus putumayensis, pp. 210–211, Figure 60 + Map 33).
Further reading
- Campbell, J.A.; Lamar, W.W. (1989). The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801420597. xiv + 430 pp., 568 figures, 109 distribution maps, 31 tables.
- Freiberg, M. (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. 189 pp. (Micrurus putumayensis, p.116).
- Lancini, A.R. (1962). "Una nueva especie de serpiente coral (Serpentes: Elapidae) del Peru ". Publicaciones Ocasionales del Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Caracas, Venezuela (2): 1–3. (Micrurus schmidti, new species). (in Spanish).
- Lancini, A.R. (1962). "Un cambio de nombre para una serpiente coral (Elapidae: Micrurus) del Peru ". Publ. Ocas. Mus. Cienc. Natur., Caracas (3): 1. (Micrurus putumayensis, replacement name for Micrurus schmidti Lancini, 1962). (in Spanish).
- Lema, T. (1972). "Sôbre Micrurus putumayensis Lancini, 1962 e sua occorência no Brasil — (Serpentes: Elapidae)". Iheringia, Série Zoologia. 41: 35–58. (in Portuguese, with an abstract in English).