''Pliocercus euryzonus'', commonly known as Cope's false coral snake, 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 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 ...
of 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 ...
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 ...
. The species is indigenous to southeastern
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
and northwestern
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 ...
. There are two 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 ...
.
Geographic range
''P. euryzonus'' is 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 ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
, and
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
.
The Reptile Database also lists Guatemala and Peru.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
of ''P. euryzonus'' is forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, at altitudes from sea level to .
Reproduction
''P. euryzonus'' 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 ...
.[
]
Subspecies
Including the nominotypical subspecies
In 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), but that can successfully interbreed. ...
, two subspecies are recognized as being valid.
Etymology
The subspecific name
In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany.
In zoology
In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...
, ''burghardti'', is in honor of herpetologist Gordon M. Burghardt.[ Smith HM, Chiszar D (2001). "''Pliocercus euryzonus'' Cope, Cope's False Coral Snake". ''Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles'' (740): 1–4.]
References
Further reading
* Cope ED (1862). "Synopsis of the Species of ''Holcosus'' and ''Ameiva'', with Diagnoses of new West Indian and South American Colubridæ". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' ''14 60–81. (''Pliocercus euryzonus'', new species, pp. 72–73).
* Freiberg M (1982). ''Snakes of South America''. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (''Pliocercus euryzonus'', p. 107).
* Ray, Julie M.; Knight, James L. (2013). ''The Venomous Snakes and their Mimics of Panama and Costa Rica'': Las Cuebras Venenosas y sus Mímicas de Panamá y Costa Rica. Scotts Valley, California: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 282 pp. .
* Savage JM (2002). ''The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas''. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. xx + 945 pp. . (''Urotheca euryzona'', p. 642).
* Smith HM, Chiszar D (1996). ''Species-Group Taxa of the False Coral Snake Genus'' Pliocercus. Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Ramus Publishing, Inc. 112 pp. . (''Pliocercus euryzonus burghardti'', new subspecies, p. 31).
Pliocercus
Snakes of Central America
Snakes of South America
Reptiles of Colombia
Reptiles of Costa Rica
Reptiles of Ecuador
Reptiles of Guatemala
Reptiles of Honduras
Reptiles of Nicaragua
Reptiles of Panama
Reptiles of Peru
Reptiles described in 1862
Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope
{{Dipsadinae-stub