Erythrolamprus ornatus, also known commonly as the ornate ground snake and the Saint Lucia racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae.[2] The species is native to the eastern Caribbean. It is the rarest snake on earth with fewer than 20 left in the wild.[4]
| Saint Lucia racer | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Erythrolamprus |
| Species: | E. ornatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Erythrolamprus ornatus | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
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Geographic range
editErythrolamprus ornatus is endemic to Saint Lucia,[5] an island nation in the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It once lived all over Saint Lucia, but now is only found on the islet of Maria Major.[6]
Description
editAdults of this non-venomous snake, E. ornatus, may attain a total length (including tail) of 123.5 cm (48.6 in).[7] Its coloration is variable. Some individuals have a broad brown vertebral stripe. In others, the brown stripe is interrupted by alternating yellow spots.[7]
Behavior and Ecology
editThe preferred natural habitats of E. ornatus are forest and shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to 950 m (3,120 ft).[1] E. ornatus is an ambush predator of small rodents and lizards,[7][6] and probably diurnal.[7] E. ornatus is oviparous.[3]
Conservation status
editIn 1936, E. ornatus was declared extinct, but it was rediscovered in 1973. It disappeared again soon after, but 11 individuals were found in 2012 on the mongoose-free island of Maria Major off the coast of Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia.[8][9] Currently the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, working with Fauna & Flora International, Saint Lucia National Trust and Saint Lucia Forestry Department, are working to build a captive breeding population with two facilities, one for breeding the snakes and one for cultivating food sources.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b Daltry JC (2016). "Erythrolamprus ornatus (errata version published in 2017)". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T12080A115104404. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T12080A71739705.en. Downloaded on 08 May 2020. (Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is endangered).
- ^ a b ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
- ^ a b Species Erythrolamprus ornatus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ "Saint Lucia racer". Fauna & Flora International.
- ^ 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. (Dromicus ornatus, p. 183).
- ^ a b "Fauna & Flora International".
- ^ a b c d Malhotra A, Thorpe RS (1999). Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean. London: Macmillan. ix + 134 pp. ISBN 0-333-69141-5. (Erythrolamprus ornatus, p. 97).
- ^ "Snake Returns from Extinction". Discovery News. July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ^ Victor, Jeannette (14 March 2017). "Facts about St. Lucian snakes including the rarest in the world". St Lucia News Online. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Breeding facility set up for Critically Endangered Saint Lucia racer | Durrell". www.durrell.org. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
Further reading
edit- Garman S (1887). "On West Indian Reptiles in the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Cambridge, Mass". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 24: 278–286. (Dromicus ornatus, new species, p. 281).
- Grazziotin FG, Zaher H, Murphy RW, Scrocchi G, Benavides MA, Zhang Y-P, Bonatto SL (2012). "Molecular Phylogeny of the New World Dipsadidae (Serpentes: Colubroidea): a reappraisal". Cladistics 28 (5): 437–459. (Erythrolamprus ornatus, new combination, p. 457).
- Parker HW (1936). "Some extinct Snakes of the West Indies". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Tenth Series 18: 227–233.
- Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians & Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN 978-0813010496. (Liophis ornatus, p. 625).
- Smith HM, Dixon JR, Wallach V (1993). "Dromicus giganteus Jan (Reptilia: Serpentes) is a nomen nudum ". Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 29 (3): 77–79.
- Williams RJ, Ross TN, Morton MN, Daltry JC, Isidore L (2016). "Update on the natural history and conservation status of the Saint Lucia racer, Erythrolamprus ornatus Garman, 1887 (Squamata: Dipsadidae)". Herpetology Notes 9: 157–162.