Oxybelis aeneus

Oxybelis aeneus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Oxybelis
Species: O. aeneus
Binomial name
Oxybelis aeneus
(Wagler, 1824)
Synonyms
A Mexican vine snake opening its mouth and displaying its black oral mucosa to intimidate a predator.

Oxybelis aeneus, commonly known as the Mexican vine snake or brown vine snake, is a species of colubrid snake, which is endemic to the Americas.

Geographic range

O. aeneus is found from southern Arizona in the United States,[5] through Mexico, to northern South America and Trinidad and Tobago.

Description

O. aeneus is an extremely slender snake that reaches up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in total length (including a long tail). Its color may vary from gray to brown with a yellow underside.

The body is laterally compressed.[3] The snout is prominent, its length more than two times the diameter of the eye. There is 1 preocular, and there are 2 postoculars. There is 1 anterior temporal, and there are 2 posterior temporals.[2] There is no loreal scale, and there are 8-10 upper labials.[4]

The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows at midbody.[2]

Ventrals 173-205;[4] subcaudals 150-188, divided (paired).[2] The anal plate is divided in Arizona specimens,[3] but is entire in South American specimens.[2]

Common names

In Arizona O. aeneus is also called "pike-headed tree snake".[3] In Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, it is known as a "horse whip" or "vine snake".

Behavior

Mostly arboreal and diurnal, O. aeneus is quite often mistaken for a vine. When threatened, it sometimes releases foul smelling secretions from its vent.

Diet

O. aeneus feeds mainly on lizards, but also eats frogs and birds.

Venom

O. aeneus is a mildly venomous rear-fanged snake, but it is not considered dangerous to humans. However, a bite can cause an itching sensation.

Reproduction

O. aeneus is oviparous. Clutch sizes of 3-6 have been published. In Arizona, hatching occurs in September.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Oxybelis aeneus ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Boulenger, G.A. (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. (Oxybelis argenteus, pp. 190-191).
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wright, A.H.; Wright, A.A. (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Oxybelis aeneus auratus, pp. 563, 565-569, Figure 167, Map 44).
  4. 1 2 3 Smith, H.M.; Brodie, E.D., Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3 (paperback). (Oxybelis aeneus, pp. 188-189).
  5. ↑ Brennan, Thomas C. "Brown Vine Snake (Oxybelis aeneus)". Online Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  6. ↑ Goldberg, S.R. (1998). "Reproduction in the Mexican vine snake Oxybelis aeneus ". Texas Journal of Science 50 (1): 51-56.

Further reading

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