Clelia clelia

Clelia clelia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Clelia
Species:	C. clelia
Binomial name
	Clelia clelia; (Daudin, 1803)
Synonyms
	Coluber clelia ; Daudin, 1803; Clelia daudinii ; Fitzinger, 1826; Brachyruton cloelia ; — A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & ; A.H.A. Duméril, 1854; Oxyrhopus clelia ; — Cope, 1878; Clelia cloelia ; — Stejneger, 1913; Pseudoboa cloelia ; — Serié, 1921; Clelia clelia ; — Dunn, 1944;

Clelia clelia, commonly known as the mussurana, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the New World.

Geographic range

Clelia clelia is found in Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles (including the island of Trinidad).^[1]

Description

Clelia clelia is a large snake. Adults may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 2.1 m (6.9 ft). Dorsally, adults are uniform black, gray, or olive-gray. Ventrally, adults are yellowish white. Juveniles are pale brown or red, with a black head and a yellow collar.^[2]

Diet

Clelia clelia preys almost exclusively on snakes, especially venomous snakes of the genera Bothrops and Crotalus.^[3]

Reproduction

Clelia clelia is oviparous.^[3]

Subspecies

Clelia clelia has two subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, which are recognized as being valid.^[1]

Clelia clelia clelia (Daudin, 1803)
Clelia clelia groomei Greer, 1965

Nota bene: A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Clelia.

Etymology

The subspecific name, groomei, is in honor of Grenadian zoologist John R. Groome.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Species Clelia clelia at The Reptile Database
^ Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Oxyrhopus clœlia, pp. 108-110).
^ ^a ^b Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Clelia clelia, pp. 30, 92-93, 128-129).
^ Greer AE (1965). "A new subspecies of Clelia clelia (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the island of Grenada". Breviora (223): 1-6. (Clelia clelia groomei, new subspecies).