''Atractus eriki'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Colubridae
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''eriki'', is in honor of Erik La Marca (born 1990), who is the youngest son of Venezuelan herpetologist
Enrique La Marca.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Atractus eriki'', p. 85).]
Geographic range
''A. eriki'' is native to the western slope of the
Cordillera de Mérida
The Cordillera de Mérida is a series of mountain ranges, or massif, in northwestern Venezuela. The Cordillera de Mérida is a northeastern extension of the Andes Mountains and the most important branch of the Venezuelan Andes. The ranges run south ...
in the western Venezuelan states of
Mérida,
Táchira
Táchira State ( es, Estado Táchira, ) is one of the 24 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal.
Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,908. At the end of the 19t ...
, and
Trujillo.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''A. eriki'' is forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
, at altitudes of .
Reproduction
''A. eriki'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Esqueda LF, La Marca E, Bazó S (2005). "''Un nuevo colúbrido fossorial del género ''Atractus'' (Dipsadinae) de la vertiente lacustre de Los Andes de Venezuela''". ''Herpetotropicos'' 2 (2): 87–93. (''Atractus eriki'', new species). (in Spanish, with an abstract in English).
* Natera Mumaw, Marco; Esqueda González, Luis Felipe; Castelain Fernández, Manuel (2015). ''Serpientes de Venezuela: Una Vision Actual de su Diversidad''. Santiago de Chile: Dimacofi Negocios Avanzados S.A. 456 pp. (in Spanish).
* Rivas GA, Molina CR, Ugueto GN, Barros TR, Barrio-Amorós CL, Kok PJR (2012). "Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist". ''Zootaxa'' 3211: 1–64.
* Wallach V, Williams KL, Boundy J (2014). ''Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species''. Boca Raton, London, New York: CRC Press, an Imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group. 1,237 pp. . (''Atractus eriki'', p. 72).
Atractus
Reptiles of Venezuela
Endemic fauna of Venezuela
Reptiles described in 2007
{{Dipsadinae-stub