Barbados racer
| Barbados racer | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Erythrolamprus |
| Species: | †E. perfuscus
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Erythrolamprus perfuscus (Cope, 1862)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Barbados racer (Erythrolamprus perfuscus), also commonly known as the tan ground snake, is an extinct species of snake in the family Colubridae. It was endemic to Barbados, and was last recorded there in 1963 .[1][2]
Description
It grew to a total length of 1 m (39 in), which included a tail 20 cm (7.9 in) long.[3] It was colored brown with lighter sides, and light lateral stripes to the rear.[4]
Habitat, behavior, and diet
The Barbados racer was an egg-laying species that lived in mesic habitats, and actively foraged during the day for lizards and frogs.[4][1]
History
This species was often believed to be the snake described by Richard Ligon in his "A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes" (1657):[5]
"Having done with Beasts and Birds, we will enquire what other lesser Animalls or Insects there are upon the Iland, of which, Snakes are the chiefe, because the largest; and I have seen some of those a yard and a halfe long."[6]
The first description of the species was published in by Edward Drinker Cope in 1862.[1] By 1889, the species population had begun to decline, with Henry Wemyss Feilden reporting that the snake was rare, and in 1930 Thomas Barbour reported the species to be extinct. In 1963, M.G. Emsley reported that he had discovered the species living in the northeastern part of Barbados, and that it was common in that area; however, this would be the last recorded sighting of the snake.[5]
The history of the Barbados racer is in part obscured due to it likely having been mixed up with Barbour's tropical racer by past writers.[1]
Conservation status
The Barbados racer was declared extinct in 2016 as the last confirmed sighting was in 1963. Later reported sightings stem from confusing Barbour's tropical racer for the Barbados racer.[1][5][7][8][9] Habitat loss, particularly the land clearance and pesticide use associated with tree crops, and predation by mongooses, cats and rats and the introduction of Barbour's tropical racer to Barbados have been suggested as factors behind the decline of the Barbados racer.[1][10]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Daltry, J.C. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Erythrolamprus perfuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T12081A115104581. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T12081A71739729.en. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Erythrolamprus perfuscus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 January 2016.
- ^ Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xi + 382 pp. + Plates I.- XX. (Liophis perfuscus, p. 133.)
- ^ a b Malhotra & Thorpe 1999, p. 98.
- ^ a b c Adrian Hailey; Byron Wilson; Julia Horrocks (7 April 2011). Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas Volume 2: Regional Accounts of the West Indies. Brill. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-90-04-19408-3.
- ^ Ligon, Richard (1657). A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes (PDF). London.
- ^ Malhotra & Thorpe 1999, p. 98 ("[I]t is almost certainly extinct")
- ^ Government of Barbados 2002, p. 55 ("If it is not already extinct, Liophis is certainly one of the world's rarest species")
- ^ Powell & Henderson 2005, p. 65 (listing L. perfuscus as "probably extinct" and "eliminated" from Barbados).
- ^ Government of Barbados 2002, p. 55.
References
- Government of Barbados (2002), A National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan for Barbados, archived from the original on September 28, 2007, retrieved June 6, 2013.
- Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999), Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean, Macmillan Education Ltd., pp. 97–98, ISBN 978-0-333-69141-0.
- Powell, Robert; Henderson, Robert (2005), "Conservation Status of Lesser Antillean Reptiles", Iguana, 12 (2): 63–77
Further reading
- Cope, E.D. 1862. Synopsis of the Species of Holcosus and Ameiva, with Diagnoses of new West Indian and South American Colubridæ. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 14: 60–82. (Liophis perfuscus, p. 77.)
- Schwartz, A., and R. Thomas. 1975. A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 216 pp. (Dromicus perfuscus, p. 183.)
External links
- Data related to Erythrolamprus perfuscus at Wikispecies
- Liophis perfuscus at the Encyclopedia of Life