''Clelia'' is a genus of snakes, one of three genera with species with the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

mussurana or musurana (Portuguese: ''muçurana'') It is a genus of large snakes 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 genus is endemic to Central America and South America, and species of ''Clelia'' are found from southern Mexico to Brazil. They specialize in ophiophagy, i.e., they attack and eat other snakes. Currently seven species are recognized as being valid. They have other popular names in various countries, such as in Central America and ''cribo'' on some Caribbean islands (though they are not related to '' Drymarchon)''.

Species

The genus ''Clelia'' contains the following species which are currently recognized: *'' Clelia clelia'' – black mussurana, windward cribo *'' Clelia equatoriana'' – equatorial mussarana *'' Clelia errabunda'' – Underwood's mussurana, Saint Lucia cribo (extinct) *'' Clelia hussami'' *'' Clelia langeri'' *'' Clelia plumbea'' *'' Clelia scytalina'' – Mexican snake eater '' Nota bene'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Clelia''.

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 ...

, ''hussami'', is in honor Brazilian herpetologist

Hussam Zaher Hossam or Hussam or Hosam or Husam (; ar, حسام) is an Arabic/Semitic male given name and surname. It means the sharp sword or a cutting blade. In some traditions it translates to "sword of justice" or "sword that divides justice and injustice". ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Clelia hussami'', p. 127; ''C. langeri'', p. 150). The specific name, ''langeri'', is in honor of German-born Dominican friar

Brother Andres Langer A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

, who is a missionary in Pampagrande,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Description

Mussuranas have an average total length (including tail) of about , but may grow up to about . When young, the dorsal color is light pink, which becomes lead-blue when adult. The ventral color is whitish yellow. They have 10 to 15 teeth at the front of the upper jaw, which are followed, after a space, by two enlarged grooved teeth at the back of the mouth ( opisthoglyphous teeth) which they use to grasp the head of the attacked snake and push it into the gullet. Then they coil around the prey, killing it by constriction (this is the reason these species are called pseudoboas). Ingestion of the whole body follows. The long body of the ingested snake is compressed as a wave in order to fit into the mussuranas' gastrointestinal system.

Reproduction

Mussaranas are

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 ...

Venom

Although mussuranas are

rear-fanged A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs. Skull The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than i ...

and produce a mild venom, these snakes pose no danger to humans. Even when handled they usually do not bite. Very few envenomations have been reported and they were not fatal

Mussuranas are immune to the Snake venom, venom of the snakes they feed upon, particularly the smaller Central and South American

pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subfa ...

s of the genus '' Bothrops''. They are not immune to the venom of the coral snake, though. In the absence of other snakes, mussuranas can feed also on small mammals. It has been reported that at least some captive specimens will accept only live snakes as prey.

Habitat and behavior

The preferred habitat of mussuranas is dense ground-level vegetation. They are diurnal.

Conservation

In some regions, farmers keep mussuranas as pets in order to keep their living environment clear of pit vipers, which claim annually a large number of deaths of domestic animals, like cattle. In the 1930s a Brazilian plan to breed and release large numbers of mussuranas for the control of pit vipers was tried but did not work. The

Butantan Institute Instituto Butantan (in modern Portuguese, Instituto Butantã, ) is a Brazilian biologic research center located in Butantã, in the western part of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Instituto Butantan is a public institution affiliated with the S� ...

in São Paulo, which specializes in the production of antivenins, erected a statue of ''Clelia clelia'' as its symbol and a tribute to its usefulness in combating venomous snake bites. Mussuranas' immunity to bothropic venom was studied by the Brazilian scientist

Vital Brazil Vital Brazil Mineiro da Campanha, known as Vital Brazil (; April 28, 1865 – May 8, 1950), was a Brazilian physician, biomedical scientist and immunologist, known for the discovery of the polyvalent anti-ophidic serum used to treat bites of v ...

in the 1920s. Mussuranas are increasingly rare due to the disappearance of their prey and have disappeared in many habitats.

References

External links

Mussurana Care Sheet
mussurana 1, common lancehead 0.

discussion forum (about venom of musurana) {{Taxonbar, from=Q1637536 Mussuranas Snakes of Central America Snakes of South America Clelia Reptiles of Brazil Reptiles of Costa Rica Reptiles of Guatemala Reptiles of Guyana Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger