Chironius carinatus

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: Colubridae
Subfamilia: Colubrinae
Genus: Chironius
Species: Chironius carinatus
Subspecies: C. c. carinatus – C. c. flavopictus – C. c. spixi
Name

Chironius carinatus Linnaeus, 1758
Type locality: “Indiis”
Holotype: NRM 33 ?
Original combination: Coluber carinatus

Synonyms

Coluber (Chironius) Donndorff, 1798: 209
Chironius carinatus - Fitzinger, 1826
Herpetodryas carinatus — Boulenger, 1886: 433
Herpetodryas carinatus — Boulenger, 1894: 73
Zaocys tornieri Werner, 1896: 15
Chironius carinatus — Ruthven, 1922: 65
Chironius carinatus — Duellman, 1978: 231
Chironius carinatus — Gorzula & Señaris, 1999

References

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542: 223. Reference page.
Ruthven, A. G. 1922. The amphibians and reptiles of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Univ. Michigan Mus. Zool., Misc. Publ. (8): 70 pp.
Gorzula Stefan & Senaris J. Celsa, 1999. In: Contribution to the herpetofauna of the Venezuelan Guayana. I: a data base. Scientia Guaianae, Caracas, No. 8 [1998], 269+ pp.; ISBN 980-6020-48-0.
Chironius carinatus at the New Reptile Database. Accessed on 22 August 2008.

Vernacular names
English: Sipo, Machete savane, Amazon whipsnake
português: Acutimbóia
українська: Зіпо кілевата

Chironius carinatus, commonly known as the amazon whipsnake, or the machete savane is a long and slender, nonvenomous colubrid snake.

Geographic range

It is endemic to the regions of Colombia, northern Brazil, Costa Rica, eastern Venezuela, northern Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Description

Chironius carinatus may grow to 3 meters (9.8 feet) in length. Their body color can range from brown to deep yellow or gold, with the tail being generally darker than the body. The belly is often a bright shade of yellow or orange. In most specimens, body scales have lightly colored centers with darker edges. A light colored stripe runs down the length of the body, fading at the tail. The dorsal scales are in 12 rows.[1]
Diet

It feeds on frogs, mice and birds.
References

Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume II. London. pp. 73-75.

Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.