''Atractus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

ground snakes in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Dipsadinae Dipsadinae is a large subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Dipsadidae). Species of the subfamily Dipsadinae are found in most of the Americas, including the West Indies, and are most diverse in South America. There a ...

. The genus includes more than 140 distinct

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

Geographic range

Snakes of the genus ''Atractus'' are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Description

In the genus ''Atractus'' the

maxilla In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...

is short, with 8–12 teeth; the maxillary and

mandibular In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

teeth decrease in size posteriorly. The head is not distinct from the neck. The eye is small, with a round or subelliptic pupil. The nostril is between two

nasal scale In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Somet ...

s. The preocular is usually absent, and the loreal and

prefrontal scales The prefrontal scales on snakes and other reptiles are the scales adjacent and anterior to the frontal, towards the tip of the snout, which are also in contact with the internasals. See also * Snake scales * Scale (zoology) In zoology, a sc ...

enter the orbit. The body is cylindrical. The

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

are smooth, without apical pits, in 15 or 17 rows. The

ventral scales In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

are rounded. The tail can be either short or rather long. The

subcaudals In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. (7t ...

are paired.

Reproduction

The genus ''Atractus'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid. ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Atractus''. *'' Atractus aboiporu'' *''

Atractus acheronius ''Atractus acheronius'' is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species can be found in Venezuela. References

Atractus, acheronius Reptiles of Venezuela Endemic fauna of Venezuela category:Snakes of South America Reptiles d ...

'' *'' Atractus akerios'' *''

Atractus albuquerquei ''Atractus albuquerquei'', commonly known as the Albuquerque ground snake, is a species of small burrowing snake in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The species is Endemism, endemic to South America. Etymology The Specific name (zoology ...

'' Cunha & Nascimento, 1983 – Albuquerque ground snake *''

Atractus alphonsehogei ''Atractus alphonsehogei'', also known commonly as Alphonse's ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Brazil. Etymology The specific name, ''alphonsehogei'', is in honor of Brazilian-born Belgian ...

'' Cunha & Nascimento, 1983 – Alphonse's ground snake *'' Atractus altagratiae'' *'' Atractus alytogrammus'' *'' Atractus andinus''

Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...

, 1944 – Andean ground snake *'' Atractus apophis'' *'' Atractus arangoi'' Prado, 1940 – brown ground snake, big ground snake *'' Atractus atlas'' Passos, Scanferla, Melo-Sampaio, Brito & Almendariz, 2018 – atlas ground snake *'' Atractus atratus'' *'' Atractus attenuatus'' *'' Atractus avernus'' *'' Atractus ayeush'' *''

Atractus badius Boie's ground snake (''Atractus badius'') is a nocturnal and semi-fossorial snake species in the Colubridae family. Like the other members of the ''Atractus'' genus, its diet is composed predominantly of earthworms, which it actively hunts in the ...

'' ( F. Boie, 1827) – Boie's ground snake *'' Atractus biseriatus'' Prado, 1941 – two-lined ground snake *'' Atractus bocki''

F. Werner Franz Josef Maria Werner (15 August 1867 in Vienna – 28 February 1939 in Vienna) was an Austrians, Austrian zoology, zoologist and exploration, explorer. Specializing as a herpetology, herpetologist and entomology, entomologist, Werner describ ...

, 1909 – Bock's ground snake *'' Atractus bocourti'' Boulenger, 1894 – Bocourt's ground snake *'' Atractus boimirim'' Passos, Prudente & J.D. Lynch, 2016 *'' Atractus boulengerii'' Peracca, 1896 *'' Atractus caete'' *'' Atractus careolepis'' *'' Atractus carrioni'' Parker, 1930 – Parker's ground snake, Carrion's ground snake *'' Atractus caxiuana'' *'' Atractus cerberus'' – Cerberus ground snake Arteaga A, Mebert K, Valencia JH, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Peñafiel N, Reyes-Puig C, Vieira-Fernandes JL, Guayasamin JM (2017). "Molecular Phylogeny of ''Atractus'' (Serpentes, Dipsadidae), with emphasis on Ecuadorian species and the description of three new taxa". ''Zookeys'' 661: 91-123. https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=11224 *'' Atractus charitoae'' *'' Atractus chthonius'' *'' Atractus clarki'' Dunn & Bailey, 1939 – Clark's ground snake *'' Atractus collaris'' – collared ground snake *'' Atractus crassicaudatus'' ( A.M.C. Duméril,

Bibron Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hire ...

& A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) – thickhead ground snake *'' Atractus dapsilis'' Melo-Sampaio, Passos, Fouquet, Prudente & Torres-Carvajal, 2019 *'' Atractus darienensis'' *'' Atractus depressiocellus'' *''

Atractus discovery ''Atractus discovery'' is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species can be found in Ecuador. Taxonomy The species was described as ''Atractus discovery'' and placed within the genus ''Atractus'' following the diagnostic framewo ...

'' Arteaga, Quezada, Vieira, & Guayasamin, 2022 *'' Atractus duboisi'' *'' Atractus duidensis''

Roze Roze may refer to: People *Janis Roze, herpetologist *Jean Roze, French textile producer *Pierre-Gustave Roze (1812–1862), French naval commander *, French mycologist; see Marasmiaceae *Magdalena Roze, Australian meteorologist *Marie Roze, French ...

, 1961 – Venezuela ground snake *'' Atractus dunni'' Savage, 1955 – Dunn's ground snake *'' Atractus echidna'' *'' Atractus ecuadorensis'' Savage, 1955 – Ecuadorean ground snake *'' Atractus edioi'' *'' Atractus elaps'' ( Günther, 1858) – black ground snake *'' Atractus emigdioi'' Gonzalez-Sponga, 1971 – Emigdio's ground snake *'' Atractus emmeli'' ( Boettger, 1888) – Emmel's ground snake, Boettger's ground snake *'' Atractus eriki'' *'' Atractus erythromelas'' Boulenger, 1903 – red-black ground snake *'' Atractus esepe'' – indistinct ground snake *'' Atractus favae'' ( de Filippi, 1840) – Filippi's ground snake *'' Atractus flammigerus'' (F. Boie, 1827) – flaming ground snake *'' Atractus franciscopaivai'' *'' Atractus francoi'' *'' Atractus fuliginosus'' ( Hallowell, 1845) – Hallowell's ground snake *'' Atractus gaigeae'' Savage, 1955 – Gaige's ground snake *'' Atractus gigas'' – giant ground snake *'' Atractus guentheri'' ( Wucherer, 1861) – Günther's ground snake *'' Atractus heliobelluomini'' *'' Atractus heyeri'' Esqueda & McDiarmid, 2015 *'' Atractus hoogmoedi'' *'' Atractus hostilitractus'' *'' Atractus imperfectus'' *'' Atractus indistinctus'' Prado, 1940 – indistinct ground snake *''

Atractus insipidus ''Atractus insipidus'' is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species can be found in Venezuela and Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of ...

'' Roze, 1961 *'' Atractus iridescens'' Peracca, 1896 – iridescent ground snake *'' Atractus lancinii'' Roze, 1961 – Lancini's ground snake *'' Atractus lasallei'' Amaral, 1931 – Lasalle's ground snake *'' Atractus latifrons'' (Günther, 1868) – broadhead ground snake *'' Atractus lehmanni'' Boettger, 1898 – Lehmann's ground snake *'' Atractus loveridgei'' Amaral, 1930 – Loveridge's ground snake *'' Atractus macondo'' *''

Atractus maculatus ''Atractus maculatus'', the spotted ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species can be found in Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the wo ...

'' (Günther, 1858) – spotted ground snake *'' Atractus major'' Boulenger, 1894 – brown ground snake *'' Atractus manizalesensis'' Prado, 1940 *'' Atractus mariselae'' Lancini, 1969 – Marisela's ground snake *'' Atractus marthae'' Meneses-Pelayo & Passos, 2019 *'' Atractus matthewi'' *'' Atractus medusa'' *'' Atractus melanogaster''

, 1916 – blackbelly ground snake *'' Atractus melas'' Boulenger, 1908 – dark ground snake *'' Atractus meridensis'' *'' Atractus michaelsabini'' Arteaga, Quezada, Vieira, & Guayasamin, 2022 *'' Atractus micheleae'' *'' Atractus microrhynchus'' (

Cope A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

, 1868) *'' Atractus mijaresi'' , 2005 *'' Atractus modestus'' Boulenger, 1894 – modest ground snake *'' Atractus multicinctus'' ( Jan, 1865) – banded ground snake *'' Atractus multidentatus'' *'' Atractus nasutus'' *'' Atractus natans'' *'' Atractus nawa'' *'' Atractus nicefori'' Amaral, 1930 – northern ground snake *'' Atractus nigricauda''

Schmidt Schmidt may refer to: * Schmidt (surname), including list of people and fictional characters with the surname * Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer * Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater * Schmidt (Martian c ...

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

, 1943 – black-headed ground snake *'' Atractus nigriventris'' Amaral, 1933 – black-ventered ground snake *'' Atractus obesus''

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

, 1960 – fat ground snake *'' Atractus obtusirostris'' F. Werner, 1916 – bignose ground snake *'' Atractus occidentalis'' Savage, 1955 – western ground snake *'' Atractus occipitoalbus'' (Jan, 1862) – gray ground snake *'' Atractus ochrosetrus'' *'' Atractus oculotemporalis'' Amaral, 1932 – Hispanic ground snake *'' Atractus orcesi'' *'' Atractus pachacamac'' *'' Atractus paisa'' *'' Atractus pamplonensis'' Amaral, 1937 – Pamplona ground snake *''

Atractus pantostictus ''Atractus pantostictus'' is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The common name for this species in Portuguese is cobra-da-terra or fura-terra. The species can be found in south eastern part of Brazil. One study found the species occ ...

'' *'' Atractus paraguayensis'' F. Werner, 1924 *'' Atractus paucidens'' Despax, 1910 – Despax's ground snake *'' Atractus pauciscutatus'' Schmidt & Walker, 1943 – little-scaled ground snake *'' Atractus paulus'' Melo-Sampaio & Venegas, 2023 *'' Atractus peruvianus'' (Jan, 1862) – Peru ground snake *'' Atractus poeppigi'' (Jan, 1862) – basin ground snake *'' Atractus potschi'' *'' Atractus punctiventris'' Amaral, 1933 – pointed ground snake *''

Atractus resplendens ''Atractus resplendens'', the resplendent ground snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species can be found in Ecuador. References

Atractus, resplendens Reptiles of Ecuador Endemic fauna of Ecuador category:Snakes ...

'' F. Werner, 1901 – resplendent ground snake *'' Atractus reticulatus'' (Boulenger, 1885) – reticulate ground snake *'' Atractus riveroi'' Roze, 1961 – Rivero's ground snake *'' Atractus ronnie'' *'' Atractus roulei'' Despax, 1910 – Roule's ground snake *'' Atractus sanctaemartae'' Dunn, 1946 – St. Marta's ground snake *'' Atractus sanguineus'' Prado, 1944 – bloody ground snake *'' Atractus savagei'' Salazar-Valenzuela, Torres-Carvajal & Passos, 2014 – Savage’s ground snake *'' Atractus schach'' (F. Boie, 1827) – Schach's ground snake *'' Atractus serranus'' Amaral, 1930 – Sao Paulo ground snake *'' Atractus snethlageae'' Cunha & Nascimento, 1983 *'' Atractus spinalis'' *'' Atractus steyermarki'' Roze, 1958 *'' Atractus stygius'' *'' Atractus surucucu'' *'' Atractus tamaensis'' *'' Atractus tamessari'' *'' Atractus taphorni'' *'' Atractus tartarus'' *'' Atractus thalesdelemai'' *'' Atractus titanicus'' *'' Atractus torquatus'' (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) – neckband ground snake *'' Atractus touzeti'' *'' Atractus trefauti'' Melo-Sampaio, Passos, Fouquet, Prudente & Torres-Carvajal, 2019 *''

Atractus trihedrurus ''Atractus trihedrurus'' is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. In English the species goes by the common name southern ground snake. ''A. trihedrurus'' reproduces sexually through oviparity. It can be found in southern Brazil and is ...

'' – southern ground snake *''

Atractus trilineatus ''Atractus trilineatus'', commonly known as the three-lined ground snake, is a species of small burrowing snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to South America. www.reptile-database.org. Geographic range ''A. trilineatus'' is ...

'' Wagler, 1828 – three-lined ground snake *'' Atractus trivittatus'' Amaral, 1933 – three-banded ground snake *'' Atractus turikensis'' *'' Atractus typhon'' *'' Atractus ukupacha'' *'' Atractus variegatus'' Prado, 1942 – variegated ground snake *'' Atractus ventrimaculatus'' Boulenger, 1905 – speckled ground snake *'' Atractus vertebralis'' Boulenger, 1904 – vertebral ground snake *'' Atractus vertebrolineatus'' Prado, 1941 – striped ground snake *'' Atractus vittatus'' *'' Atractus wagleri'' Prado, 1945 – Wagler's ground snake *'' Atractus werneri'' Peracca, 1914 – Werner's ground snake *'' Atractus zebrinus'' *'' Atractus zgap'' Arteaga, Quezada, Vieira, & Guayasamin, 2022 *'' Atractus zidoki'' Gasc & Rodriques, 1979 – Zidok's ground snake

Geographic range

Description

Reproduction

Species

References

Further reading