Boie's ground snake (''Atractus badius'') is a nocturnal and semi-

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

snake species in the

Colubridae 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. C ...

family. Like the other members of the ''

Atractus ''Atractus'' is a genus of Colubridae, colubrid ground snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae. The genus includes more than 140 distinct species. Geographic range Snakes of the genus ''Atractus'' are Endemism, endemic to Central America, Central an ...

'' genus, its diet is composed predominantly of earthworms, which it actively hunts in the leaf litter of the primary and secondary

rainforests Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

it inhabits.Serpentes et Amphisbènes de Guyane française. Ibis Rouge Éditions, Matoury, Guyane, 1998-2013. . The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

lists the species as 'Least Concern' because of its wide distribution, including in protected areas.

Description

On average, Boie's ground snake reaches a length of 25-40 cm. Its basic color pattern consist of light yellow rings enclosed by two dark grey bands that contrast against a red background. The head is grey whereas on the neck, two white triangles are present. The belly is off-white with irregular black spots. In adults, the colored bands often fade and turn the snake dark grey, in particular its tail end. The species is nocturnal, terrestrial, and semi-fossorial, and is often encountered under wood debris, decomposing tree trunks, or even in old termite nests.

Distribution

The species is distributed across the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (; ; ; ) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on ...

. and can be found in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and Brazilian Amazonia. It may also possibly occur in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. According to the

British Herpetological Society The British Herpetological Society (BHS) is an international herpetological society based in the United Kingdom. The BHS is a non-profit organization with goals to support the conservation, education and captive care of reptiles and amphibians. ...

, the species was mistakenly thought to occur in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

because a specimen was found in

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

Reproduction

The species 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 ...

and lays on average three to five eggs in January.

Common names

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, the species is known as St. Marta's ground snake, Dunn's ground snake, French Guyana ground snake, and Boie's ground snake. In Portuguese, the species is known as ''fura-terra'' or ''cobra-da-terra''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2869643 badius Taxa named by Friedrich Boie