Pseustes sulphureus

Pseustes sulphureus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Pseustes
Species:	P. sulphureus
Binomial name
Pseustes sulphureus (Wagler, 1824)
Synonyms[1]
Natrix sulphurea Wagler, 1824 Coluber poecilostoma Wied-Neuwied, 1824 Spilotes poecilostoma — A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 Phrynonax sulphureus — Boulenger, 1894 Paraphrynonax versicolor Lutz & Mello, 1920 Pseustes sulphureus — Beebe, 1946 Spilotes sulphureus — Jadin et al., 2013

Pseustes sulphureus, commonly known as the yellow-bellied puffing snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America.

Description

P. sulphureus is a large snake, which can grow up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) in total length (including tail).^[2]

Geographic range

P. sulphureus is found in northern South America and Trinidad and Tobago.^[2]

Diet

Adults of P. sulphureus feed on small mammals and birds, while juveniles feed on lizards, mice and rats.^[2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[1]

• Pseustes sulphureus dieperinkii (Schlegel, 1837)
• Pseustes sulphureus sulphureus (Wagler, 1824)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was original described in a genus other than Pseustes.

References

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Phrynonax sulphureus, p. 19).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Pseustes sulphureus, p. 108 + color photo, p. 151).
• Jadin, Robert C.; Burbrink, Frank T,; Rivas, Gilson A.; Vitt, Laurie J; Barrio-Amorós, César L.; Guralnick, Robert P. (2013). "Finding arboreal snakes in an evolutionary tree: phylogenetic placement and systematic revision of the Neotropical birdsnakes". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 52 (3); 257-264. (Spilotes sulphureus, new combination).
• Wagler J (1824). In Spix J (1824). Serpentum Brasiliensum species novae ou histoire naturelle des espèces nouvelles de serpens, recueillies et observées pendant le voyage dans l'intérieur du Brésil dans les années 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, exécuté par ordre de sa Majesté le Roi de Baviére. Munich: F.S. Hübschmann. viii + 75 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (Natrix sulphurea, new species, pp. 26–27 + Plate IX). (in Latin and French).