Bogert's coral snake (''Micrurus bogerti)'' is a
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), ...
of
venomous snake in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Elapidae
Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus '' Emydocephalus ...
. The species is
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 southern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''bogerti'', is in honor of American herpetologist
Charles Mitchill Bogert.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Micrurus bogerti'', p. 30).]
Geographic range
''M. bogerti'' is native to the Pacific coast of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, ranging from
Puerto Angel to
San Pedro Tapanatepec.
Habitat
Known from a few specimens from four localities, ''M. bogerti'' is found in tropical deciduous forest, dry coastal forest, and scrub forest.
Description
''M. bogerti'' has a black snout, followed by a yellow parietal band, followed by a black nuchal band. The body is red with 16–19 black rings. The black rings, which are narrower than the red spaces between them, are edged with yellow or white rings which are even narrower. The red spaces are 6–8
dorsal scales wide; the black rings, 3–4 dorsals; and the yellow or white rings, 1–2 dorsals.
[
]
Reproduction
''M. bogerti'' 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 ...
.[ www.reptile-database.org.]
Conservation status
No conservations measures are known, but ''M. bogerti'' is protected by Mexican law.
Taxonomy
There are no recognized subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of ''M. bogerti''.
References
Further reading
* Campbell JA, Lamar WW (1989). ''The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America''. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. xiv + 430 pp., 568 figures, 109 distribution maps, 31 tables. .
* Heimes P (2016). ''Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I''. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Chimaira. 572 pp. .
* Liner EA (2007). "A Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of México". ''Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University'' 80: 1–60. (''Micrurus bogert'', p. 53).
* Mata-Silva V, Johnson JD, Wilson LD, García-Padilla E (2015). "The herpetofauna of Oaxaca, Mexico: composition, physiographic distribution, and conservation status". ''Mesoamerican Herpetology'' 2 (1): 6–62.
* Roze, Jánis A. (1967). " A Check List of the New World Venomous Coral Snakes (Elapidae), with Descriptions of New Forms". ''American Museum Novitates'' (2287): 1–60. (''Micrurus bogerti'', new species, pp. 9–11, Figure 3).
Micrurus
Reptiles described in 1967
Endemic reptiles of Mexico
Taxa named by Janis Roze
{{Elapidae-stub