''Atractus gaigeae'', also known
commonly as Gaige's ground snake, 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
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
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
.
[
]
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 ...
, ''gaigeae'', is in honor of American herpetologist Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige
Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige (November 24, 1890 – October 24, 1976) was an American herpetologist, curator of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Museum of Zoology at the University of Michigan, and a specialist in neotropical frogs.
Gaige was born ...
.[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Atractus gaigeae'', p. 96).]
Geographic range
''A. gaigeae'' is found in eastern Ecuador, in the Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...
,[
]
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. gaigeae'' 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 .
Description
A small species, ''A gaigeae'' may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of in females, and in males. The tail is short, about 10% SVL in females, and about 14% SVL in males.[
]
Reproduction
''A. gaigeae'' 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
* Dixon, James R.; Soini, Pekka (1977). "The Reptiles of the Upper Amazon Basin, Iquitos Region, Peru, Part 2: Crocodilians, Turtles, and Snakes". ''Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology'' (4): 59–154. (''Atractus collaris gaigeae'', new combination).
* Passos P, Prudente ALC, Ramos LO, Caicedo-Portilla JR, Lynch JD (2018). "Species delimitations in the ''Atractus collaris'' complex (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)". ''Zootaxa'' 4392 (3): 491–520.
* Savage JM (1955). "Descriptions of New Colubrid Snakes, Genus ''Atractus'', from Ecuador". ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 68: 11–20. (''Atractus gaigeae'', new species, pp. 12–14).
* Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D (2019). "Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich online portal, with dynamic checklists and photographic guides". ''Amphibian & Reptile Conservation'' 13 (1) eneral Section 209–229 (e178).
Atractus
Reptiles of Ecuador
Endemic fauna of Ecuador
Reptiles described in 1955
Taxa named by Jay M. Savage
{{Dipsadinae-stub