Barbour's tropical racer

Barbour's tropical racer (Mastigodryas bruesi ) is a species of snakes in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Caribbean.

Barbour's tropical racer
Picture taken in Lance Aux Epines, Grenada, West Indies.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Mastigodryas
Species:
M. bruesi
Binomial name
Mastigodryas bruesi
(Barbour, 1914)
Synonyms[1]
  • Alsophis bruesi
    Barbour, 1914
  • Mastigodryas bruesi
    — Schwartz & Henderson, 1991

Etymology

The specific name, bruesi, is in honor American entomologist Charles Thomas Brues, who was one of the collectors of the type specimen.[2]

Geographic range

M. bruesi is native to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.

Description

M. bruesi can reach a total length (body plus tail) of about 83 cm (33 in). Dorsally, it is blue-gray to brown, with lighter lateral stripes. Ventrally, it is whitish.

Behavior and diet

M. bruesi is diurnal, hunting frogs and lizards.

Habitat

M. bruesi can be found in xeric habitats, on the ground, and in bushes, where it sleeps at night.

Locality records

M. bruesi has been recorded in the southwest corner of Saint Vincent and is widespread all over the Grenadines islands. It is also found on the southern half of Grenada, which is the farthest south it is distributed. It has been introduced to Barbados, probably around thirty years ago, where it has been incorrectly identified as Liophis perfuscus.

References
  1. "Mastigodryas bruesi ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Mastigodryas bruesi, p. 41).

Sources

Further reading
  • Barbour T (1914). "A Contribution to the Zoögeography of the West Indies, with Especial Reference to Amphibians and Reptiles". Mem. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Harvard College 44 (2): 205-359 + one plate. (Alsophis bruesi, new species, pp. 337–338).
  • Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Mastigodras bruesi, p. 189).


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