Barbados racer
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox The Barbados racer (Erythrolamprus perfuscus), also commonly known as the tan ground snake, was a species of colubrid snake that was endemic to Barbados. It is now extinct.[1][2]
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):[3]
"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."[4]
Conservation status
It is believed to be extinct, as there has not been a confirmed sighting since 1961.[3][5][6][7] Habitat loss is believed to have caused its decline, particularly the land clearance and pesticide use associated with tree crops.[8]
Description
It grew to a total length of Script error: No such module "convert"., which included a tail Script error: No such module "convert". long.[9] It was colored brown with lighter sides, and light lateral stripes to the rear.[10]
Habitat, behavior, and diet
It probably lived in mesic habitats, and actively foraged during the day for lizards and frogs.[10]
Footnotes
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- ↑ Erythrolamprus perfuscus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 January 2016.
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "Footnotes". ("[I]t is almost certainly extinct")
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Footnotes". ("If it is not already extinct, Liophis is certainly one of the world’s rarest species")
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Footnotes". (listing L. perfuscus as "probably extinct" and "eliminated" from Barbados).
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- ↑ 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 Script error: No such module "Footnotes"..
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References
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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.)