Red-tailed Racer

Gonyosoma oxycephalum

Description

The Red-tailed Racer is a large snake species with a long snout. It is bright green and the tail is rust red. Reddish brown or gray. The underside is lighter green or yellowish in color. There is a dark line running from the nose through the eyes, marking the border between the green top of the head and the lighter green lips. Young snakes can generally be darker in color.

Population Size

Decreasing

Life Span

20 year

WEIGHT​

-

LENGTH

Average total length 1.6 m, maximal 2.4 m

Ar

Arboreal

Ca

Carnivore

Di

Diurnal

Classification

KINGDOM

:

Animalia

PHYLUM

:

Chordata

CLASS

:

Reptilia

ORDER

:

Squamata

FAMILY

:

Colubridae

GENUS

:

Gonyosoma

SPECIES

:

Gonyosoma oxycephalum

Distribution

In Bali it is known to be in plantation areas with high rainfall at an altitude of 100 to 1400 m above sea level. Elsewhere there are rainforests, montane forests, mangroves, swamps, and gardens.

Geography

Continent : Asia

Country : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Southeast Asia, Kalimantan, Philippines, and Indonesia from Sumatra to Lombok.

Habits and Lifestyle

The Red-tailed Racer lives and spends most of its time in trees and in tree holes. Rarely drops to the ground. If this Snake is disturbed, it can widen the air sacs around its neck, making it look bigger. In defense, it has an ‘attitude’ and can attack or bite. Very unpredictable and can change over time but capable of becoming benign through good handling.

Lifestyle

Arboreal

Biome

Rain forest, mangrove forest, swamps

Climate Zone

Tropical

Diet and Nutrition

The Red-tailed Racer mostly prey on birds, bird eggs and bats. This snake catches its prey flying as it slithers between tree branches. In captivity, it can be trained to eat mice.

Nutrition : Carnivora

Mating Habits

The Red-tailed Racer reaches sexual maturity at the age of 4 years, and its eggs will hatch in 13 to 16 weeks. Females usually lay 3 to 8 eggs between September and January and the chicks are about 45 cm (18 inches) long.

Reproduction session : September and January

Incubation periods : 13 until 16 weeks

Independent age : at birth

Baby name : –

Baby carrying : 3 – 8 eggs

Population

Population status : Least Concern (LC)

NE

DD

LC

NT

VU

EN

CR

EW

EX

Population threats​

There appears to be no major threat to this widespread and adaptable species. The scale of exploitation may not be large enough to threaten this species across home ranges, although the effects of harvesting on local subpopulations are unclear.

Population number​

No major threats have been identified and there appears to be no impact on the overall population from current levels of exploitation, these snakes occur in a number of protected areas, and are tolerant of this level of habitat modification. So that it is included in the IUCN Red List with the category of little attention.

PHOTO GALLERY

Reference

  1. Gonyosoma oxycephalum on The IUCN Red List site
  2. Gonyosoma oxycephalum Wikipedia article
  3. Somaweera, R. 2017. A Naturalist’s Guide To The Reptiles and Amphibians of Bali. John Beaufoy Publishing, Oxford, England.
  4. McKay, J.L. 2006. Reptil and Amphibi di Bali. Krieger Publishing Company, Florida, USA.