''Xenodon merremii'', also known commonly as Wagler's snake, is a species 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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Dipsadinae of 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 species is endemic to South America and is widespread in the eastern half of the continent.

Geographic range

''X. merremii'' occurs in Venezuela,

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, French Guiana, Brazil,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina.. www.reptile-database.org.

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 ...

, ''merremii'', is in honor of German herpetologist

Blasius Merrem Blasius Merrem (4 February 1761 – 23 February 1824) was a German naturalist, zoologist, ornithologist, mathematician, and herpetologist. In 1804, he became the professor of political economy and botany at the University of Marburg. Early li ...

Description

Adults of ''X. merremii'' are usually or less in total length (including tail). Freiberg M (1982). Its color pattern is very variable. Some "red phase" specimens are a uniform reddish tan. Other specimens are pale brown dorsally, with broad dark-brown crossbands, which are edged with black, and are narrower or interrupted in the middle. Boulenger GA (1894). The latter color pattern resembles that of the venomous snake ''

Bothrops alternatus :''Common names'': yarará grande, urutu,Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. . wutu,Brown JH. 1973. ''Toxicology and Pharmacolog ...

''.

Diet

''X. merremii'' preys on insects, frogs, toads, lizards, and sometimes snakes. Like other

rear-fanged A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs. Skull The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than i ...

toad-eaters of the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

'' Heterodon'' and ''

Lystrophis ''Lystrophis'' is the genus of tricolored South American hognose snakes. They mimic milk snakes or coral snakes with their red, black, and white ringed patterns. Species The genus ''Lystrophis'' contains five species that are recognized as be ...

'', ''X. merremii'' uses its enlarged posterior maxillary teeth to puncture and deflate toads which have defensively puffed themselves up, thereby making them easier to swallow.

Defensive behavior

When threatened, ''X. merremii'' raises the anterior part of its body, inflating and spreading its neck, similar to a cobra.

Reproduction

''X. merremii'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

References

* Boulenger GA (1894). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (''Xenodon merremii'', pp. 150–151). * Freiberg M (1982). ''Snakes of South America''. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (''Waglerophis merremii'', pp. 113, 144 + photographs on pp. 21, 159, 162). * Wagler J (1824). ''In'': Spix J (1824). ''Serpentum Brasiliensum species novae ou histoire naturelle des espèces nouvelles de serpens, recueillies et observées pendant le voyage dans l'intérieur du Brésil dans les années 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, exécuté par ordre de sa Majesté le Roi de Baviére''. Munich: F.S. Hübschmann. viii + 75 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (''Ophis merremii'', new species, p. 47 + Plate XVII). (in Latin). * Wallach V, Williams KL, Boundy J (2014). ''Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species''. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. xxviii + 1,209 pp. . (''Xenodon merremii'', p. 785). Colubrids Snakes of South America Reptiles of Argentina Reptiles of Bolivia Reptiles of Brazil Reptiles of French Guiana Reptiles of Guyana Reptiles of Paraguay Reptiles of Suriname Reptiles of Uruguay Reptiles of Venezuela Reptiles described in 1824 Taxa named by Johann Georg Wagler {{Colubrid-stub