Caraiba

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Dipsadidae
Subfamilia: Xenodontinae
Tribus: Alsophiini
Genus: Caraiba
Species: C. andreae
Source(s) of checklist:
Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Caraiba . The Reptile Database.
Name

Caraiba Zaher et al., 2009
References

Zaher, H., Grazziotin, F.G., Cadle, J.E., Murphy, R.W., Moura-Leite, J.C. & Bonatto, S.L. 2009. Molecular phylogeny of advanced snakes (Serpentes, Caenophidia) with an emphasis on South American xenodontines: a revised classification and descriptions of new taxa. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 49(11): 115–153. DOI: 10.1590/S0031-10492009001100001 Open access Reference page.

Caraiba is a monotypic genus of snake in the family Colubridae. The genus contains the sole species Caraiba andreae, also known commonly as the black and white racer or the Cuban lesser racer, which is endemic to Cuba. There are six recognized subspecies.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, andreae, is in honor of a Danish ship's master, "Captain Andrea", who collected the holotype.[3]
Geographic range

C. andreae is found throughout Cuba. It is also found on Isla de la Juventud (formerly called Isle of Pines), and on other smaller offshore islands.[2]
Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. andreae are shrubland and forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,100 m (3,600 ft).[1]
Description

Dorsally, C. andreae is black, with a dorso-lateral series of yellow spots on each side. The upper labials are white. Ventrally it is white, with black markings. Adults may attain a total length of 65.5 cm (25.8 in), which includes a tail 21.5 cm (8.5 in) long.[4]
Reproduction

C. andreae is oviparous.[2]
Subspecies

The following six subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

Caraiba andreae andreae (Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862)
Caraiba andreae melopyrrha (Thomas & Garrido, 1967)
Caraiba andreae morenoi (Garrido, 1973)
Caraiba andreae nebulatus (Barbour, 1916)
Caraiba andreae orientalis (Barbour & Ramsden, 1919)
Caraiba andreae peninsulae (Schwartz & Thomas, 1960)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Caraiba.
References

Fong A (2017). "Caraiba andreae ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T176340A71742798. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T176340A71742798.en. Downloaded on 28 September 2018.
Caraiba andreae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 December 2016.
Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Antillophis andteae, p. 9).

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. (Liophis andreæ, pp. 140–141).

Further reading

Barbour T (1916). "The Reptiles and Amphibians of the Isle of Pines". Annals of the Carnegie Museum 10 (1–2): 297–308 + Plate XXVIII. (Leimadophis nebulatus, new species, pp. 305–306 + Plate XXVIII, figures 1–2).
Barbour T, Ramsden CT (1919). "The Herpetology of Cuba". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 47 (2): 69–213 + Plates 1–15. (Leimadophis andreae orientalis, new subspecies, p. 196).
Garrido OH (1973). "Nuevas subespecies de reptiles para Cuba". Torreia, nueva serie 30: 1–31. (Antillophis andreae morenoi, new subspecies, p. 18). (in Spanish).
Reinhardt J, Lütken CF (1862). "Bildrag til det vestindiske Öriges og navnligen til de dansk-vestindiske Öers Herpetologie". Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den naturhistoriske Forening i Kjöbenhavn 1862 (10–18): 153–291. (Liophis andreæ, new species, pp. 214–216). (in Danish & Latin).
Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN 978-0813010496.
Schwartz A, Thomas R (1960). "Four New Snakes (Tropidophis, Dromicus, Alsophis) from the Isla de Piños and Cuba". Herpetologica 16 (2): 73–90. (Dromicus andreae peninsulae, new subspecies, p. 81).
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. (Antillophis andreai, pp. 174–175).
Thomas R, Garrido OH (1967). "A New Subspecies of Dromicus andreae (Serpentes, Colubridae)". Annals of Carnegie Museum 39: 219–226. (Dromicus andreae melopyrrha, new subspecies, pp. 219–222, Figure 1d).
Zaher H, Grazziotin FG, Cadle JE, Murphy RW, Moura-Leite JC, Bonatto SL (2009). "Molecular phylogeny of advanced snakes (Serpentes, Caenophidia) with an emphasis on South American Xenodontines: a revised classification and descriptions of new taxa". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo 49 (11): 115–153. (Caraiba, new genus, p. 148). (in English, with an abstract in Portuguese).