''Senticolis'' is a
genus of non
venomous snake in the
family Colubridae
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...
. The genus ''Senticolis'' is
monotypic, containing the sole
species ''Senticolis triaspis'', also known as the green rat snake. The species is
endemic to
Central America,
Mexico, southern
Arizona, and southern
New Mexico.
Description
''Senticolis triaspis'' may grow to a total length (including tail) of .
Dorsally, it is green or olive green, and ventrally it is light yellow.
[ The head is elongated, the body is slender, and the smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 31-39 rows.][Wright & Wright 1957.]
Habitat
''Senticolis triaspis'' usually inhabits evergreen forests and grassland.[
]
Geographic range
''Senticolis triaspis'' is well distributed in the Baboquivari, Pajarito, Atascosa, Santa Rita Santa Rita may refer to:
* Rita of Cascia (1381–1457), Catholic saint
*Associação Atlética Santa Rita, a Brazilian football (soccer) club
*Santa Rita de Cássia FC, an Angolan football (soccer) club
Places Belize
* Santa Rita, Corozal, a Ma ...
, Empire, Patagonia, Chiricahua
Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende ) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehende ...
, Swisshelm, Pedregosa, and Peloncillo mountains of southeastern Arizona.[
]
Diet
''Senticolis triaspis'' consumes small animals such as lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
s, birds, and bats, killing them by deadly constriction.[
]
Behavior
''Senticolis triaspis'' is primarily diurnal.[
]
Reproduction
During reproduction, an adult female of ''S. triaspis'' is able to lay up to 9 egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s in a clutch.[Brennan, Thomas C. (2008)]
Green Ratsnake (''Senticolis triaspis'')
- Reptiles of Arizona. The Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
Subspecies
Three subspecies
In biological classification, 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. Not all species ...
are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, 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. Not all species ...
.["''Senticolis triaspis'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.]
*'' Senticolis triaspis intermedia'' – Arizona, New Mexico, northern Mexico
*'' Senticolis triaspis mutabilis'' – Central America
*'' Senticolis triaspis triaspis'' – southern Mexico
'' Nota bene'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Senticolis''.
References
External links
*
Further reading
* Behler, John L.; F. Wayne King (1979). ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 plates. . (''Elaphe triaspis'', p. 608 + Plate 479).
* Cope ED (1866). "Fourth Contribution to the HERPETOLOGY of Tropical America". ''Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia'' 18: 123–132. (''Coluber triaspis'', new species, p. 128).
*Dowling, Herndon G.; Isabelle Fries (1987). "A Taxonomic Study of the Ratsnakes. VIII. A Proposed New Genus for ''Elaphe Triaspis'' (Cope)". ''Herpetologica'' 43 (2): 200–207. (''Senticolis'', new genus).
* Schmidt, Karl P.; D. Dwight Davis (1941). ''Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (''Elaphe chlorosoma'', p. 146).
* Smith, Hobart M.; Edmund D. Brodie, Jr. (1982). ''Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification''. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. (paperback), (hardcover). (''Elaphe triaspis'', pp. 184–185).
* Stebbins RC (2003). ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition''. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp. 56 plates. . (''Senticolis triaspis'', pp. 359–360 + Plate 45 + Map 149).
* Stejneger L, T Barbour (1917). ''A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (''Elaphe chlorosoma'', p. 82).
* Wright, Albert Hazen; Anna Allen Wright (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (''Elaphe triaspis'', pp. 258–262, Figure 80 + Map 23 on p. 223).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1870466
Rat snakes
Monotypic snake genera