Philodryas olfersii

Philodryas olfersii is a species of venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America.

Philodryas olfersii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Philodryas
Species:
P. olfersii
Binomial name
Philodryas olfersii
(Lichtenstein, 1823)
Synonyms[1]

Common names

Common names for P. olfersii include Lichtenstein's green racer,[2][3] South American green racer,[4] and eastern green whiptail,[5][6] and in Brazil, cobra-cipó, cobra de São João,[7] cobra-facão, cobra-verde, and mboi-obi.[8]

Etymology

The specific name, olfersii, is in honor of German naturalist Ignaz von Olfers.[9]

Geographic range

P. olfersii is native to southern South America, including Brazil, Bolivia, northwestern Paraguay, northern Argentina.[2]

Description

P. olfersii reaches 1 to 1.5 meters (about 40 to 60 inches) in maximum total length (including tail).[3]

Dorsally, it is green in color;[10] ventrally, it is yellowish.[1]

The dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, and are arranged in 19 rows at midbody.[1]

Habitat

P. olfersii can be found in many habitat types, including the Cerrado, Caatinga, forests, forest transition,[7] and restinga.[11]

Behavior

The species P. olfersii is often arboreal,[6] but it also forages on the ground.[5] It is diurnal,[6] though it has been observed mating late in the evening.[12]

Diet

Prey items of P. olfersii include rodents, lizards, amphibians, and birds,[6] especially nestlings.[5] They will also eat other snakes, including ones almost as large as themselves.[8]

Reproduction

P. olfersii is oviparous. Each egg measures about 5 centimeters (about 2 inches).[6] The clutch size is 4 to 11 eggs, with larger females producing more eggs than smaller ones.[13]

Venom

Snake species in the genus Philodryas are not considered venomous.[14][15] However, P. olfersii is a venomous snake, and there have been reports of serious bites causing local and systemic effects requiring medical treatment.[14] The venom of P. olfersii is highly hemorrhagic, fibrinogenolytic and edematic, also has proteolytic activity 208% higher than Bothrops jararaca, in addition to containing neurotoxic properties, In mice, doses such as 5.6 µg / 20g result in neurotoxic effects, which included dyspnea, equilibrium alterations, posterior limbs paralysis, flaccid paralysis and relaxation of the urinary sphincter. in laboratory mice, the venom of this species has an LD50 of 2.79 ± 0.58 mg / kg (intraperitoneal), equivalent to the lethality of Bothrops asper. However, due to the anatomy of their inoculating teeth located in the posterior region of the maxilla, these snakes have difficulty in inoculating venom, sometimes giving a '' dry '' bite.[16][17][18][19] The most common symptoms are pain, swelling, erythema, and ecchymosis.[20] There may be a pulsing sensation or numbness at the bite site. Some pus can develop and nearby lymph nodes may enlarge. Bruising or other discoloration can appear quite a distance from the wound site, sometimes occurring far up the arm after a hand wound,[14] even progressing to the neck, chest,[7] and abdomen.[4] Stiffness may affect the entire limb.[10] Patients complaining of snakebite may be given an antivenom for Bothrops snake venom, which is inappropriate for the treatment of Philodryas bites.[14][15] Philodryas does not cause the coagulopathy that Bothrops does.[7] Only one fatality has been reported, and that in a child.[3]

The secretion that causes injury to bite victims is produced in the snake's Duvernoy's gland and channeled into its prey via a grooved tooth. It is myotoxic, causing muscle damage; muscle tissue hemorrhages and becomes necrotic.[15] The secretion contains toxins such as serine proteases, metalloproteases, C-type lectins, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, and a C-type natriuretic peptide.[21]

Parasites

P. olfersii is host to a newly described species of parasitic protozoan, Caryospora olfersii. This snake has also been recorded carrying C. braziliensis.[11]

Subspecies

Some sources do not recognize any subspecies of P. olfersii.[8][22] However, other sources recognize the following three subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies:[10][2][23]

  • Philodryas olfersii herbeus (Wied, 1825)
  • Philodryas olfersii latirostris (Cope, 1862)
  • Philodryas olfersii olfersii (Lichtenstein, 1825)

References
  1. Boulenger GA (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. (Philodryas olfersii, pp. 129-130).
  2. Philodryas olfersii. The Reptile Database.
  3. O'Shea M (2008). Venomous Snakes of the World. New Holland Publishers. pg. 53.
  4. Weinstein SA, et al. (2011). "Venomous" Bites from Non-Venomous Snakes: A Critical Analysis of Risk and Management of "Colubrid" Snake Bites. Elsevier. pg. 104.
  5. Sazima I, Marques OAV (2007). "A reliable customer: Hunting site fidelity by an actively foraging neotropical colubrid snake". Herpetological Bulletin (99): 36-38.
  6. Barbo FE, et al. (2011). "Diversity, natural history, and distribution of snakes in the municipality of São Paulo". South American Journal of Herpetology 6 (3): 135-160.
  7. Correia JM, et al. (2010). "Poisoning due to Philodryas olfersii (Lichtenstein, 1823) attended at Restauração Hospital in Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil: Case report". Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 43 (3): 336-338.
  8. Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Philodryas olfersii, pp. 106, 137 + photographs on pp. 21, 146).
  9. Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 312 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Philodryas olfersii, p. 157).
  10. Kuch U (1999). "Notes on two cases of human envenomation by the South American colubrid snakes Philodryas olfersii latirostris Cope, 1862 and Philodryas chamissonis (Wiegmann, 1834) (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae)". Herpetozoa 12 (1/2): 11-16.
  11. Viana LA, et al. (2013). "A new species of Caryospora Léger, 1904 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the snake Philodryas olfersii Lichtenstein (Colubridae) from a coastal habitat in Brazil". Syst. Parasitol. 85 (2): 195-199.
  12. Dourado de Mesquita PCM, et al. (2012). "Philodryas olfersii (Squamata, Serpentes, Dipsadidae): Nocturnal mating behavior". Archived 2013-12-27 at the Wayback Machine Herpetologia Brasileira 1 (1): 41.
  13. Dourado de Mesquita PCM, et al. (2013). "Reproductive biology of Philodryas olfersii (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) in a subtropical region of Brazil". The Herpetological Journal 23 (1): 39-44.
  14. Araújo ME, Santos AC (1997). "Cases of human envenoming caused by Philodryas olfersii and Philodryas patagoniensis (Serpentes: Colubridae)". Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. 30 (6): 517-519.
  15. Acosta de Perez O, et al. (2003). "Edematogenic and myotoxic activities of the Duvernoy's gland secretion of Philodryas olfersii from the north-east region of Argentina". Biocell 27 (3): 363-370.
  16. https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/HER_12_1_2_0011-0016.pdf
  17. Araújo, Maria Elisabeth de; Santos, Ana Cristina M. C. A. dos (December 1997). "Cases of human envenoming caused by Philodryas olfersii and Philodryas patagoniensis (serpentes: Colubridae)". Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical. 30 (6): 517–519. doi:10.1590/S0037-86821997000600013. ISSN 0037-8682.
  18. Rodríguez-Acosta, Alexis; Lemoine, Karel; Navarrete, Luis; Girón, María E.; Aguilar, Irma (April 2006). "Experimental ophitoxemia produced by the opisthoglyphous lora snake (Philodryas olfersii) venom". Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical. 39 (2): 193–197. doi:10.1590/S0037-86822006000200012. ISSN 0037-8682.
  19. Rodríguez-Acosta, Alexis; Lemoine, Karel; Navarrete, Luis; Girón, María E.; Aguilar, Irma (April 2006). "Experimental ophitoxemia produced by the opisthoglyphous lora snake (Philodryas olfersii) venom". Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical. 39 (2): 193–197. doi:10.1590/S0037-86822006000200012. ISSN 0037-8682.
  20. Ribeiro LA, et al. (1999). "Bites by the colubrid snake Philodryas olfersii: A clinical and epidemiological study of 43 cases". Toxicon 37 (6): 943-948.
  21. Ching ATC, et al. (2006). "Some aspects of the venom proteome of the Colubridae snake Philodryas olfersii revealed from a Duvernoy’s (venom) gland transcriptome". FEBS Letters 580 (18): 4417-4422.
  22. "Philodryas olfersii ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  23. "Philodryas olfersii ". Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de/systematik/Reptilien/Squamata/Serpentes/colubroidea/colubridae/dipsadinae#section-58.

Further reading
  • Lichtenstein H (1823). Verseichniss der Doubletten des zoologischen Museums der Königl. Universität zu Berlin nebst Beschreibung vieler bisher unbekannter Arten von Säugethieren, Vögeln, Amphibien und Fischen herausgegeben. Berlin: Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften. (T. Trautwein, printer). x + 118 pp. + one plate. (Coluber olfersii, new species, pp. 104–105).
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