''Ninia sebae'', commonly known as the redback coffee snake or the red coffee 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 small terrestrial

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Colubridae. 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 else ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

south to Costa Rica. Although it resembles some venomous

coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 16 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera (''Calliophis'', '' Hemibungar ...

s in color and size, it is not venomous and seldom bites humans.

Etymology

The specific name, ''sebae'', is in honor of Dutch naturalist

Albertus Seba Albertus or Albert Seba (May 12, 1665, Etzel near Friedeburg – May 2, 1736, Amsterdam) was a Dutch pharmacist, zoologist, and collector. Seba accumulated one of the largest cabinets of curiosities in the Netherlands during his time. He sold ...

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the

nominotypical subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. *'' Ninia sebae immaculata'' *'' Ninia sebae morleyi'' *'' Ninia sebae punctulata'' *'' Ninia sebae sebae'' ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

other than ''Ninia''.

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 ...

s of ''N. sebae'' are

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' ...

and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, at altitudes from sea level to .

Behavior

Coffee snakes (species in the genus ''Ninia'') are thought to rely on concealment, flight and intimidation to avoid predation. These snakes were observed either flattening their entire bodies when alarmed, or remaining motionless in whatever position they were discovered. In a more recent study these snakes, when touched, displayed a flattened head and neck, and raised their anterior third or half.

Diet

''N. sebae'' preys upon

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. T ...

Reproduction

''N. sebae'' is oviparous.

References

* Bocourt MF (1883). "''Études sur les reptiles'' ". pp. i–xiv, 1–1012. ''In'': Duméril A A Bocourt MF, Mocquard F (1870–1909). ''Recherches Zoologiques pour servir a l'Histoire de la Faune de l'Amérique Centrale et du Mexique''. Paris: Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique. (Impremerie Impériale, printer). (''Streptophorus sebae'' var. ''punctulata'', new variety, pp. 547–548). (in French). * Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A H-A(1854). ''Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux'' General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles. Volume 7. Part 1. Containing the Natural History of the Nonvenomous Snakes Paris: Roret. xvi + 780 pp. (''Streptophorus sebae'', new species, pp. 115–117). (in French). *Heimes, Peter (2016). ''Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I''. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Chimaira. 572 pp. . * Schmidt KP, Andrews EW (1936). "Notes on Snakes from Yucatan". ''Zoological Series of Field Museum of Natural History'' 20 (18): 167–187. (''Ninia sebae morleyi'', new subspecies, pp. 169–171). *Schmidt KP, Rand AS (1957). "Geographic Variation in the Central American Colubrine Snake, ''Ninia sebae''". ''Fieldiana · Zoology'' 39 (10): 73—84. (''Ninia sebae immaculata'', new subspecies, pp. 81–82). Ninia Snakes of Central America Reptiles of Belize Reptiles of Costa Rica Reptiles of Guatemala Reptiles of Honduras Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of Nicaragua Reptiles described in 1854 Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Auguste Duméril {{Colubrids-stub