Mastigodryas boddaerti

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
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: Mastigodryas
Species: Mastigodryas boddaerti
Subspecies: M. b. boddaerti – M. b. dunni – M. b. ruthveni
Name

Mastigodryas boddaerti (Sentzen, 1796)

Type locality: “200 miles of Caracas, Colombia ?, Venezuela”.
Synonyms

Coluber boddaerti Sentzen, 1796: 59
Herpetodryas Boddaertii — Schlegel, 1837: 185
Herpetodryas Boddaertii — Duméril & Bibron, 1854: 210
Drymobius boddaerti — Cope, 1885: 183
Herpetodryas Boddaertii — Garman, 1887: 284
Drymobius boddaertii — Boulenger, 1894: 11
Dryadophis boddaerti — Stuart, 1939: 55
Mastigodryas boddaerti — Gorzula & Señaris, 1999

References

Sentzen 1796: Ophiologische Fragmente. Meyer’s Zool. Arch. 2: 59, 66.
Stuart, L.C. 1941: Studies of Neotropical Colubrinae VIII. A revision of the genus Dryadophis Stuart, 1939. Miscellaneous publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 49: 1–106.
Gorzula Stefan & Senaris J. Celsa 1999: In: Contribution to the herpetofauna of the Venezuelan Guayana: a data base. Scientia Guaianae, Caracas, No. 8 [1998], 269+ pp.; ISBN 980-6020-48-0.
Mastigodryas boddaerti at the New Reptile Database. Accessed on 26 sep 2008.

Vernacular names
English: Boddaert's Tropical Racer

Mastigodryas boddaerti, commonly known as Boddaert's tropical racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to tropical South America including Trinidad and Tobago.[3][4]

Distribution

M. boddaerti occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.[3][5]
Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of M. boddaerti is forest, at altitudes of 24–2,600 m (79–8,530 ft).[1]
Description

M. boddaerti changes coloration ontogenetically. Juveniles from Guyana have a brown dorsum with grayish tan bands, with white spots ventrolaterally on anterior ends of the tan bands. The chin and throat are white, with dark brown irregular spots. The venter is tan-colored. Adults are nearly uniform brown dorsally, with traces of bands anteriorly. There is a lateral light tan stripe on the anterior half of the body. The venter is light gray with darker gray smudges on the throat.[5] Individuals from Brazilian Amazonas measured up to 109 centimetres (3 ft 7 in) in snout–vent length.[6]
Behavior

M. boddaerti is diurnal and mainly terrestrial, but it will occasionally climb low vegetation.[1]
Diet

M. boddaerti feeds on young birds, lizards, and mice.[4] Specimens from Brazilian Amazonas fed mostly on lizards, followed by mammals and frogs.[6]
Reproduction

M. boddaerti is oviparous.[1][3]
Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.[3]

Mastigodryas boddaerti boddaerti (Sentzen, 1796)
Mastigodryas boddaerti dunni (Stuart, 1933)
Mastigodryas boddaerti ruthveni (Stuart, 1933)

Etymology

The specific name, boddaerti, is in honor of Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert.[7] The subspecific names, dunni and ruthveni, are in honor of American herpetologists Emmett Reid Dunn and Alexander G. Ruthven, respectively.
References

Rivas G, Gutiérrez-Cárdenas P, Valencia J, Gonzales L, Nogueira C, Murphy J (2019). "Mastigodryas boddaerti ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T203299A2763506.en. Downloaded on 08 August 2021.
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. (Drymobius boddaertii, pp. 11-14).
Mastigodryas boddaerti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 August 2015.
Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.
Cole CJ, Townsend CR, Reynolds RP, MacCulloch RD, Lathrop A (2013). "Amphibians and reptiles of Guyana, South America: Illustrated keys, annotated species accounts, and a biogeographic synopsis". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 125 (4): 317–578. doi:10.2988/0006-324X-125.4.317.
Siqueira, Débora M.; Nascimento, Loana P.; Santos-Costa, Maria Cristina Dos (2012). "Feeding biology of Boddaert's tropical racer, Mastigodryas boddaerti (Serpentes, Colubridae) from the Brazilian Amazon". South American Journal of Herpetology. 7 (3): 226–232. doi:10.2994/057.007.0304.

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. (Mastigodryas boddaerti, p. 29).