Barbados racer
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Erythrolamprus
Species:
†E. perfuscus
Binomial name
†Erythrolamprus perfuscus
(Cope, 1862)
Synonyms
  • Liophis perfuscus Cope, 1862
  • Dromicus perfuscus (Cope, 1862)

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 1 m (39 in), which included a tail 20 cm (7.9 in) 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

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. ↑ Erythrolamprus perfuscus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 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.
  4. ↑ Ligon, Richard (1657). A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes (PDF). London.
  5. ↑ Malhotra & Thorpe 1999, p. 98 ("[I]t is almost certainly extinct")
  6. ↑ Government of Barbados 2002, p. 55 ("If it is not already extinct, Liophis is certainly one of the world’s rarest species")
  7. ↑ Powell & Henderson 2005, p. 65 (listing L. perfuscus as "probably extinct" and "eliminated" from Barbados).
  8. ↑ Government of Barbados 2002, p. 55.
  9. ↑ 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.)
  10. 1 2 Malhotra & Thorpe 1999, p. 98.

References

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.)
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