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Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Mexican Vine Snake (Oxybelis aeneus)


Mexican Vine Snake (Oxybelis aeneus)STATUS





Description: O. aeneus is an extremely slender snake that reaches up to 6.2 feet in total length (including a long tail). Its color may vary from gray to brown with a yellow underside. Mexican vine snakes disappear in their natural habitat; their cryptic morphology provides them with highly effective camouflage. The body is laterally compressed. The snout is prominent, its length more than two times the diameter of the eye. There is 1 preocular, and there are 2 postoculars. There is 1 anterior temporal, and there are 2 posterior temporals. There is no loreal scale, and there are 8 to 10 upper labials. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. The anal plate is divided in Arizona specimens, but is entire in South American specimens.


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.


Range: Within Arizona, O. aeneus is exclusively affiliated with Madrean Evergreen Woodland communities and the upper reaches of adjacent semidesert grassland habitat.


Found in these States: AZ


Diet: feeds mainly on lizards (mostly anoles), but also eats frogs, small rodents and birds.


Reproduction: is oviparous. Clutch sizes of 3 to 6 have been published. In Arizona, hatching occurs in September.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a broad range of habitats, occurrence in several protected areas, presumed large population, and because it is not currently in decline.


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
           »» Suborder: Serpentes
             »» Superfamily: Colubroidea
               »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
                   »» Genus: Oxybelis
                     »» Species: Oxybelis aeneus - Mexican Vine Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Oxybelis aeneus", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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