Rhadinaea marcellae

Rhadinaea marcellae
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Rhadinaea
Species:	R. marcellae
Binomial name
Rhadinaea marcellae Taylor, 1949

Rhadinaea marcellae, also known commonly as Marcella's graceful brown snake and la hojarasquera de Marcella in Mexican Spanish, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to eastern and central Mexico.

Etymology

The specific name, marcellae, is in honor of Marcella Newman who was the wife of American ornithologist Robert J. Newman.^{[2]: 168, 189}

Geographic range

Rhadinaea marcellae is found in the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, and Veracruz.^[3]

Habitat

The natural habitat of Rhadinaea marcellae is montane cloud forest, at altitudes of 1,000–1,600 m (3,300–5,200 ft).^[1]

Diet

Rhadinaea marcellae preys upon salamanders.^[1]

Reproduction

Rhadinaea marcellae is oviparous.^[1][3]

References

1. Mendoza-Quijano, F. (2007). "Rhadinaea marcellae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007 e.T63900A12724166. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. xiii + 296. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
3. Species Rhadinaea marcellae at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

• Heimes, P. (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. ISBN 978-3-89973-100-2. 572 pp.
• Myers, C.W. (1974). "The systematics of Rhadinaea (Colubridae), a genus of New World snakes". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 153: 1–262.
• Nieto-Montes de Oca, A.; Mendelson, J.R. III (1997). "Variation in Rhadinaea marcellae (Squamata: Colubridae), a poorly known species from the Sierra Madre Oriental of México". Journal of Herpetology. 31 (1): 124–127.
• Sánchez-García, Juan Carlos; Canseco-Márquez, Luis; Pavón-Vázquez, Carlos J.; Cruzado-Cortés, Juan; García-Vázquez, Uri Omar (2019). "New records and morphological variation of Rhadinea marcellae Taylor, 1949 (Squamata, Colubridae) from Sierra Madre Oriental, México". Check List. 15 (5): 729–733.
• Taylor, E.H. (1949). "A Preliminary Account of the Herpetology of the State of San Luis Potosí, México". University of Kansas Science Bulletin. 33 (2): 169–215. (Rhadinaea marcellae, new species, pp. 197–198).