''Oxybelis aeneus'', commonly known as the Mexican vine snake or brown vine 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 ...

colubrid 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 ...

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 ...

, which 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 the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Geographic range and habitat

''O. aeneus'' is found from within the Atascosa, Patagonia, and Pajarito mountains of southern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, through

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 ...

, to northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. Within Arizona, ''O. aeneus'' is exclusively affiliated with Madrean Evergreen Woodland communities and the upper reaches of adjacent semidesert grassland habitat. It is usually encountered in trees or shrubs on open, steep, and grassy slopes, but is also associated with wooded canyons, especially those with abundant vegetation.

Description

''O. aeneus'' is an extremely slender snake that reaches up to in total length (including a long tail). Its color may vary from gray to brown with a yellow underside. Mexican vine snake in habitat

The body is laterally compressed. The snout is prominent, its length more than two times the diameter of the eye. There is 1

preocular In scaled reptiles, the ocular scales are those forming the margin of the eye.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . The name originates from the term ''oculus'' which ...

, and there are 2 postoculars. There is 1 anterior temporal, and there are 2 posterior temporals. Boulenger, G.A. (1896). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (''Oxybelis argenteus'', pp. 190-191). There is no

loreal scale The lore (adj. loreal) is the region between the eyes and nostrils of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Ornithology In ornithology, the lore is the region between the eye and bill on the side of a bird's head. This region is sometimes featherles ...

, and there are 8-10

upper labials In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...

. The smooth

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

are arranged in 17 rows at midbody.

Ventrals In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

173-205; subcaudals 150-188, divided (paired). The anal plate is divided in Arizona specimens, but is entire in South American specimens.

Common names

In Arizona ''O. aeneus'' is also called "pike-headed tree snake". Wright, A.H.; Wright, A.A. (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (''Oxybelis aeneus auratus'', pp. 563, 565-569, Figure 167, Map 44). In Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, it is known as a "horse whip" or "vine snake".

Behavior

Mostly arboreal and diurnal, ''O. aeneus'' is quite often mistaken for a vine. When threatened, it sometimes releases foul smelling secretions from its vent. Cobra - cipó - Oxybelis aeneus

Diet

''O. aeneus'' feeds mainly on lizards (mostly

anole Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles () and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfami ...

s), but also eats frogs, small rodents and

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

Venom

''O. aeneus'' is a mildly venomous rear-fanged snake, but it is not considered dangerous to humans.

Reproduction

''O. aeneus'' 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 ...

. Clutch sizes of 3-6 have been published. In Arizona, hatching occurs in September.Goldberg, S.R. (1998). "Reproduction in the Mexican vine snake ''Oxybelis aeneus'' ". ''Texas Journal of Science'' 50 (1): 51-56.

References

External links

''Oxybelis aeneus'' eating a rosebelly lizard ''(Sceloporus variabilis)''
* {{Authority control Colubrids Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago Vertebrates of Guyana Reptiles of Central America Reptiles of Guatemala Taxa named by Johann Georg Wagler Reptiles described in 1824