''Rhadinaea bogertorum'', also known
commonly as the Oaxacan graceful brown snake and ''la hojarasquera de Oaxaca'' in Mexican Spanish, 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
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 native to
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 Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''bogertorum'' (genetive plural), is in honor of American herpetologist
Charles Mitchill Bogert and his wife Martha.
Geographic range
''R. bogertorum'' 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 the Mexican state 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 ...
.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
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 ''R. bogertorum'' 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, ...
.
Description
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 ...
of ''R. bogertorum'' has a total length of , which includes a tail length of . 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, and in 17 rows throughout the length of the body.
[ Myers CW (1974).]
Reproduction
''R. bogertorum'' 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 ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Heimes P (2016). ''Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol I.'' Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Chimaira. 572 pp. .
* 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.
* Myers CW (1974). "The systematics of ''Rhadinaea'' (Colubridae), a genus of New World snakes". ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' 153 (1): 1–262. (''Rhadinaea bogertorum'', new species, pp. 59–66, Figures 10J, 11G, 13, Map 5).
* Ramirez-Bautista A, Mancilla-Moreno M, Smith HM, Chiszar D, van Breukelen F (1998). "Morphological Variation and Relationship of ''Rhadinaea bogertorum'' (Squamata: Colubridae), an Endemic Snake of the Sierra de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico". '' Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society'' 34 (4): 99-122.
Reptiles described in 1974
Rhadinaea
Snakes of North America
Endemic reptiles of Mexico
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