Clelia clelia
Clelia clelia, commonly known as the black mussurana or windward cribo, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the New World.
| Clelia clelia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Clelia |
| Species: | C. clelia |
| Binomial name | |
| Clelia clelia (Daudin, 1803) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Etymology
The subspecific name, groomei, is in honor of Grenadian zoologist John R. Groome.[3]
Names
It is called doi or duma in the Kwaza language of Rondônia, Brazil.[4]
Geographic range
Clelia clelia is found in Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles (including the island of Trinidad).[2]
Description
Clelia clelia is a large snake. Adults may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 2.1 m (6.9 ft). Dorsally, adults are uniform black, gray, or olive-gray. Ventrally, adults are yellowish white. Juveniles are pale brown or red, with a black head and a yellow collar.[5]
Diet
Clelia clelia preys almost exclusively on snakes, especially venomous snakes of the genera Bothriechis, Bothrops, Crotalus, Lachesis, Micrurus, and Porthidium.[6][7] Despite being primarily ophiophagous, Clelia clelia also include in their diet: lizards, snake eggs, opossums, rodents, birds, small mammals, and snails.[8]
Subspecies
Clelia clelia has two subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, which are recognized as being valid.[2]
Nota bene: A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Clelia.
References
- "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- Species Clelia clelia at The Reptile Database
- Greer AE (1965). "A new subspecies of Clelia clelia (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the island of Grenada". Breviora (223): 1-6. (Clelia clelia groomei, new subspecies).
- Manso, Laura Vicuña Pereira. 2013. Dicionário da língua Kwazá. M.A. dissertation. Guajará-Mirim: Federal University of Rondônia.
- Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Oxyrhopus clœlia, pp. 108-110).
- Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Clelia clelia, pp. 30, 92-93, 128-129).
- "Common Mussurana (Clelia clelia)".
- "Common Mussurana (Clelia clelia)".
Further reading
- Daudin FM (1803). Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles ... Tome sixième [Volume 6]. Paris: F. Dufart. 447 pp. (Coluber clelia, new species, p. 330). (in French).
- Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Clelia clelia, pp. 180–181).