Clelia scytalina, commonly known as the Mexican snake eater or zopilota de altura (highland mussarana), is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the New World.
Geographic range Clelia scytalina is found in Southern Mexico, Central America, and Colombia."Clelia scytalina (Cope, 1867)" at the Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Consulted: 22 April 2012.
Description The head of C. scytalina is somewhat distinct from the neck. The eye is moderate in size, with a vertically elliptical pupil. The body is cylindrical, and the tail is moderately long.
The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows at midbody.
The coloration of juveniles is completely different from that of adults. Juveniles have a black head, a yellow or white nuchal crossband (collar), and a red body. Juveniles are often mistaken for coral snakes and killed. Adults are uniform bluish black dorsally, and cream-colored ventrally.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. . (Clelia scytalina, p. 574).
Habitat Clelia scytalina is a terrestrial animal which inhabits old-growth and second-growth forests and their borders. Occasionally it is found in open areas in submontane and montane life zones.
Diet Like other species of mussurana, C. scytalina is known to feed on other snakes.Muñoz Chacón, Federico (2000). Clelia scytalina (Cope, 1867) . INBio (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad ), Costa Rica. Consulted: 22 April 2012.
Reproduction Clelia scytalina is oviparous (egg-laying).
References
Further reading Cope ED (1867). "Fifth Contribution to the of Tropical America". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 18 ["1866"]: 317–323. (Scolecophis scytalinus, new species, p. 320.). Muñoz Chacón, Federico; Johnston, Richard Dennis (2013). Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Pocket Guide. Ithaca, New York: Comstock. 170 pp. .
External links Clelia scytalina at the Encyclopedia of Life.