Clelia clelia, commonly known as the mussurana, black mussurana or windward cribo, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to the New World.
Etymology The subspecific name, groomei, is in honor of Grenadian zoologist John R. Groome.Greer AE (1965). "A new subspecies of Clelia clelia (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the island of Grenada". Breviora (223): 1-6. (Clelia clelia groomei, new subspecies).
Common names Clelia clelia is called doi or duma in the Kwaza language of Rondônia, Brazil.Manso, Laura Vicuña Pereira (2013). Dicionário da língua Kwazá. M.A. dissertation. Guajará-Mirim, Brazil: Federal University of Rondônia.
Geographic range Clelia clelia is found in Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles (including the island of Trinidad).
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of Clelia clelia is forest at altitudes from sea level to .
Description Clelia clelia is a large snake. Adults may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Dorsally, adults are uniform black, gray, or olive-gray. Ventrally, adults are yellowish white. Juveniles are pale brown or red, with a black head and a yellow collar.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. (Oxyrhopus clœlia, pp. 108-110).
Behavior Clelia clelia is terrestrial. It is primarily nocturnal, but it is also sometimes diurnal.
Diet Clelia clelia is a generalized noctural predator with a strong degree of ophiophagy, including venomous snakes of the genera Bothriechis, Bothrops, Crotalus, Lachesis, Micrurus, and Porthidium.Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Clelia clelia, pp. 30, 92-93, 128-129).
In addition to snakes, Clelia clelia include the following prey items in its diet: lizards, snake eggs, opossums, rodents, birds, small mammals, and snails.
Reproduction Clelia clelia is oviparous.
Subspecies Clelia clelia has two subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, which are recognized as being valid. www.reptile-database.org. Clelia clelia clelia Clelia clelia groomei
Nota bene: A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Clelia.
References
Further reading Daudin FM (1803). Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles ... Tome sixième [Volume 6]. Paris: F. Dufart. 447 pp. (Coluber clelia, new species, p. 330). (in French). 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. (Clelia clelia, pp. 180–181).