The Terre-de-Haut racer (''Alsophis sanctonum'') is a species of snake found in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, on the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

. This species is endemic to

Terre-de-Bas Island Terre-de-Bas Island (officially in French: Terre-de-Bas des Saintes ''(literally: Lowland of les Saintes)'') is an island in the Îles des Saintes archipelago, in the Lesser Antilles. It belongs to the communes of France, commune (municipality) of ...

and

Terre-de-Haut Island Terre-de-Haut Island (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Tèdého; also formerly known as ''Petite Martinique'') is the easternmost island in the Îles des Saintes , part of the archipelago of Guadeloupe. Like name of neighboring Terre-de-Bas, nam ...

which make up the

Îles des Saintes The Îles des Saintes (; "Islands of the Female Saints"), also known as Les Saintes, is a group of small islands in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. It is part of the Canton of Trois-Rivières and is divided int ...

. Terre-de-Bas and Terre-de-Haut are very small islands with a total area of approximately 13 km². Because of its presence only on this small area, it is a highly protected species. It can reach nearly a meter in length. It feeds on lizards and small rodents. It rarely bites humans, but may release a foul-smelling (though harmless)

cloacal In animal anatomy, a cloaca ( ), plural cloacae ( or ), is the posterior orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles and birds, an ...

secretion when disturbed.

Habitat

''Alsophis sanctonum'' occurs along mangrove edges, roadsides, gardens, wooded areas, preferentially in semi-deciduous forest with

Pimenta racemosa ''Pimenta racemosa'' is a species of plant in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae) that is native to the Caribbean region. Common names include West Indian bay tree, bay rum tree, and ciliment. It is used in cooking and an essential oil is distilled t ...

Pisonia grandis ''Pisonia grandis'', the grand devil's-claws, is a species of flowering tree in the ''Bougainvillea'' family, Nyctaginaceae. Description The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that matur ...

, Guapinol, and

Bursera simaruba ''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean ...

. It is present in areas less frequented by humans.

Subspecies

*''A. sanctonum sanctonum'' Barbour, 1915 or Terre-de-Haut racer. *''A. sanctonum danforthi'' Cochran, 1938 or Terre-de-Bas racer.

References

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External links

Alsophis Reptiles of the Caribbean Reptiles of Îles des Saintes Reptiles described in 1915 Taxa named by Thomas Barbour {{Dipsadinae-stub