Pliocercus euryzonus

Pliocercus euryzonus, commonly known as Cope's false coral snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is indigenous to southeastern Central America and northwestern South America. There are two recognized subspecies.

Pliocercus euryzonus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Pliocercus
Species:	P. euryzonus
Binomial name
Pliocercus euryzonus Cope, 1862
Synonyms[2]
Pliocercus euryzonus Cope, 1862 Liophis splendens Jan, 1863 Elapochrus euryzona — Günther, 1893 Urotheca euryzona — Boulenger, 1894

Geographic range

P. euryzonus is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of P. euryzonus is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,460 m (4,790 ft).[1]

Reproduction

P. euryzonus is oviparous.[3]

Subspecies

Including the nominotypical subspecies, two subspecies are recognized as being valid.[3]

• Pliocercus euryzonus burghardti H.M. Smith & Chiszar, 1996
• Pliocercus euryzonus euryzonus Cope, 1862

Etymology

The subspecific name, burghardti, is in honor of herpetologist Gordon M. Burghardt.[4]

References

1. Solórzano A, Nicholson K, Chaves G, Porras LW (2016). "Pliocercus euryzonus ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)old-form url
2. Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Urotheca euryzona, p. 182).
3. Species Pliocercus euryzonus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
4. Smith HM, Chiszar D (2001). "Pliocercus euryzonus Cope, Cope's False Coral Snake". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (740): 1–4.

Further reading

• Cope ED (1862). "Synopsis of the Species of Holcosus and Ameiva, with Diagnoses of new West Indian and South American Colubridæ". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia [14]: 60–81. (Pliocercus euryzonus, new species, pp. 72–73).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Pliocercus euryzonus, p. 107).
• Ray JM, Knight JL (2013). The Venomous Snakes and their Mimics of Panama and Costa Rica: Las Cuebras Venenosas y sus Mímicas de Panamá y Costa Rica. Scotts Valley, California: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 282 pp. ISBN 978-1493586011.
• Savage JM (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. xx + 945 pp. ISBN 0-226-73537-0. (Urotheca euryzona, p. 642).
• Smith HM, Chiszar D (1996). Species-Group Taxa of the False Coral Snake Genus Pliocercus. Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Ramus Publishing, Inc. 112 pp. ISBN 978-0965253505. (Pliocercus euryzonus burghardti, new subspecies, p. 31).