''Oxybelis rutherfordi'', Rutherford's vine snake, commonly known as the Horsewhip in

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several smaller islets. The capital city is Port of Spai ...

, 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 snake. The species was originally described in 2020 by Robert C. Jadin, Christopher Blair, Sarah A. Orlofske, Michael J. Jowers, Gilson A. Rivas, Laurie J. Vitt, Julie M. Ray, Eric N. Smith & John C. Murphy.

Description

''Oxybelis rutherfordi'' is one of the Neotropical vine snakes . In 2020 it was described as being distinct from a similar species of vine snake; ''

Oxybelis aeneus ''Oxybelis aeneus'', commonly known as the Mexican vine snake or brown vine snake, is a species of colubrid snake, which is endemic to the Americas. Geographic range and habitat ''O. aeneus'' is found from within the Atascosa, Patagonia, and Pa ...

''.

Phylogenetic analyses In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as Computational phylogenetics, phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organ ...

has shown distinctive genetic differences.

Range & habitat

The species has been observed 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 ...

including

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the ...

, and

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 ...

. The

Holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

was collected in the grounds of the William Beebe Tropical Research Station (also known as Simla), in the Arima Valley in the

Northern Range The Northern Range is the range of tall hills across north Trinidad, the major island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The hills range from the Chaguaramas peninsula on the west coast to Toco in the east. The Northern Range covers appro ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and is an adult female.

Etymology

The species was named after Mike G. Rutherford, collector of the holotype and at the time curator of the University of the West Indies Zoology Museum (UWIZM), for his contributions to the zoology and natural history of Trinidad and Tobago.

References

Oxybelis Reptiles described in 2020 Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago Reptiles of Venezuela Reptiles of French Guiana {{Colubrinae-stub