Barbour's tropical racer (Mastigodryas bruesi) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Caribbean.
Etymology The specific name, bruesi, is in honor of American entomologist Charles Thomas Brues, who was one of the collectors of the holotype.Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Mastigodryas bruesi, p. 41).
Geographic range M. bruesi is native to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.
Description M. bruesi can reach a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about . Dorsally, it is blue-gray to brown, with lighter lateral stripes. Ventrally, it is whitish.
Behavior and diet M. bruesi is diurnal, hunting frogs and lizards.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of M. bruesi is forest, both mesic and xeric. It can be found on the ground, and in bushes, where it sleeps at night.
Reproduction M. bruesi is oviparous.
Locality records M. bruesi has been recorded in the southwest corner of Saint Vincent and is widespread all over the Grenadines islands. It is also found on the southern half of Grenada, which is the furthest south it is distributed. It has been introduced to Barbados, probably around thirty years ago, where it has been incorrectly identified as Liophis perfuscus.
References
Sources
. .
Further reading Barbour T (1914). "A Contribution to the Zoögeography of the West Indies, with Especial Reference to Amphibians and Reptiles". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, Harvard College 44 (2): 205-359 + one plate. (Alsophis bruesi, new species, pp. 337–338). Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. . (Mastigodryas bruesi, p. 626). Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Mastigodras bruesi, p. 189).
External links
Mastigodryas bruesi at the Encyclopedia of Life