Leptophis ahaetulla
Encyclopedia
Leptophis ahaetulla, the Lora or Parrot Snake is a medium-sized slender snake
of the colubrid
family. It is found in northern South America
and Trinidad and Tobago
. It feeds on lizards, frogs and small birds.
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
of the colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
family. It is found in northern South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. It feeds on lizards, frogs and small birds.
Distribution
- Central America: S Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama.
- South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina.
Subspecies
Leptophis ahaetulla has currently 12 recognized subspecies, including the nominal one:- Leptophis ahaetulla ahaetulla (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Leptophis ahaetulla bocourti (BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1898) - Leptophis ahaetulla bolivianus (Oliver, 1942)
- Leptophis ahaetulla chocoensis (Oliver, 1942)
- Leptophis ahaetulla coeruleodorsus (Oliver, 1942)
- Leptophis ahaetulla copei (Oliver, 1942)
- Leptophis ahaetulla liocercus (WiedPrince Maximilian of Wied-NeuwiedPrince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied was a German explorer, ethnologist and naturalist....
, 1824) - Leptophis ahaetulla marginatus (CopeEdward Drinker CopeEdward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
, 1862) - Leptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatusLeptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatusLeptophis ahaetulla nigromarginatus, the Black-skinned Parrot Snake, is a snake of the colubrid family. It is one of 12 recognized subspecies of the Parrot Snake, Leptophis ahaetulla-Description:...
Black-skinned Parrot Snake (Günther, 1866) - Leptophis ahaetulla occidentalis (Günther, 1859)
- Leptophis ahaetulla ortonii (CopeEdward Drinker CopeEdward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
, 1876) - Leptophis ahaetulla praestans (CopeEdward Drinker CopeEdward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
, 1868)