Liophis cursor

Liophis cursor
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Xenodontinae
Genus:	Liophis
Species:	L. cursor
Binomial name
Liophis cursor (Lacépède, 1789)
Synonyms
Coluber cursor Lacépède, 1789 Herpetodryas cursor — Schlegel, 1837 Dromicus cursor — A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 Liophis cursor — Boulenger, 1894[1] Dromicus cursor — Schwartz & Thomas, 1975[2] Liophis cursor — Schwartz & Henderson, 1991[3]

Liophis cursor, commonly known as Lacépède's ground snake, is a species of snake in the Colubridae family. It is endemic to Martinique. Little is known of it scientifically, and few photographs exist.

Geographic range

It has been reported on Diamond Rock (Rocher du Diamant), which may be the last refuge for the species.

Taxonomy

The French naturalist Bernard Germain Étienne de la Ville, Comte de Lacépède first described it in 1789 in his Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares et de Serpens.

Behavior

The snake is diurnal and lives on the ground, usually hidden under leaves and wood. It hunts reptiles and amphibians.

Conservation status

The importation to Martinique of other species of snakes, and of mongooses to control them, have driven it to near extinction.

References

1. Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xi + 382 pp. + Plates I.- XX. (Liophis cursor, pp. 139-140.)
2. Schwartz, A., & R. Thomas. 1975. A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 216 pp. (Dromicus cursor, p. 182.)
3. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

External links

• Breuil, M. 1996. Liophis cursor. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 July 2007.

Further reading

• Lacepède, B.G.E. 1789. Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes Ovipares et de Serpens. Vol. 2. Paris: Imprimerie du Roi, Hôtel de Thou. 671 pp. (Coluber cursor, p. 96.)