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DOI10.47051/LCQQ1911 Published March 28, 2022. Open access.

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Tidy Tropical-Racer (Mastigodryas pulchriceps)

Reptiles of Ecuador | Serpentes | Colubridae | Mastigodryas | Mastigodryas pulchriceps

English common names: Tidy Tropical-Racer, Cope’s Tropical Racer.

Spanish common names: Serpiente látigo reticulada, serpiente látigo de cabeza linda, corredora tropical pulcra.

Recognition: ♂♂ 153.1 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=113.0 cm. ♀♀ 150 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=114.0 cm..¹ Tropical Racers (genus Mastigodryas) can be identified from other medium-sized diurnal snakes in Ecuador by having a loreal scale, more than one anterior temporal scale, and smooth dorsal scales arranged in 17 rows at mid-body.^2,3 Juveniles of M. pulchriceps are easily identified based on their ornate dorsal coloration, which consists of 30–68 dark-brown blotches on a lighter background shade.^3,4 This pattern becomes fainter on larger individuals and is usually accompanied by two thin light dorsolateral stripes (Fig. 1).³ Mastigodryas pulchriceps approaches the distribution of, and may even co-occur with, M. heathii and M. reticulatus. While juveniles of the three species are difficult to tell apart from each other, adults are easily distinguishable. Those of M. heathii have broader (3 vs 1 dorsal scales wide) dorsolateral stripes than adults of M. pulchriceps.⁵ Adults of M. reticulatus lack a striped pattern; instead, they have a uniform grayish dorsum in which each scale is edged in black.⁵ Other snakes similar in size and coloration that may be found living alongside M. pulchriceps in Ecuador are Erythrolamprus albiventris, which has one anterior temporal scale (instead of two), and species in the genus Dendrophidion, which have keeled (instead of smooth) dorsal scales.²

Figure 1: Individuals of Mastigodryas pulchriceps from FCAT Reserve, Esmeraldas province (); Mindo, Pichincha province (); Cerro de Hayas, Guayas province (); Itapoa Reserve, Esmeraldas province (); and Cahuasquí, Imbabura province (), Ecuador. j=juvenile.

Natural history: UncommonUnlikely to be seen more than once every few months. to locally frequentRecorded weekly in densities below five individuals per locality.. Mastigodryas pulchriceps is a diurnal and primarily terrestrial snake that inhabits evergreen to semi-deciduous forests, cloud forests, and dry to humid montane shrublands.^3,6,7 The species also occurs in areas having a matrix of pastures, plantations, and remnants of native vegetation, as well as in gardens of heavily-populated urban areas.^1,3 These snakes have been seen active during sunny hours in the morning, crossing roads and trails, basking in open areas or foraging on leaf-litter, soil, or among grass or shrubs.^1,8 When not active, they sleep under rocks or coiled on vegetation up to 5 m above the ground.^1,9 Racer snakes in general are opistoglyphous (having enlarged teeth towards the rear of the maxilla) and mildly venomous, which means they are dangerous to small prey, but not to humans.^10,11 Tidy Tropical-Racers are active hunters and their diet includes lizards (including Andinosaura oculata,³ Holcosus bridgesii,¹ Stenocercus guentheri,¹² and S. chota¹²) and frogs (Gastrotheca riobambae¹³). Individuals rely mostly on crypsis as a primary defense mechanism; when threatened, they usually try to flee. However, if grabbed or cornered, these agile snakes will not hesitate to strike.^1,3 Snakes in the genus Mastigodryas are oviparous,¹¹ but there is no information about the clutch size in M. pulchriceps.

Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..^14,15 Mastigodryas pulchriceps is included in this category on the basis of the species’ wide distribution, presence in over a dozen protected areas (Appendix 1), and presumed stable populations.^3,14 This is one of the few snakes able to survive in Quito and adjacent inter-Andean valleys despite the fact that virtually no native vegetation is left in these highly populated areas.³ The main threat to the long-term survival of populations of M. pulchriceps is the continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat, mostly due to encroaching human activities such as agriculture, cattle grazing, wild fires, and the replacement of native vegetation with eucalyptus and pine trees. It is estimated that in Ecuador, ~57% of the potential habitat of the species has already been destroyed.¹⁶ Tidy Tropical-Racers also suffer from human persecution and traffic-related mortality.^1,14

Distribution: Mastigodryas pulchriceps is widely distributed along the Chocoan lowlands and adjacent slopes of the Andes in Colombia (from Cauca and Chocó departments) to southwestern Ecuador (El Oro province). The species also occurs in several inter-Andean valleys, including Quito, El Chota, and Jubones. In Ecuador, M. pulchriceps has been recorded at elevations between 0 and 3034 m (Fig. 2).

Figure 2: Distribution of Mastigodryas pulchriceps in Ecuador. The star corresponds to the type locality: Valley of Quito, Pichincha province. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.

Etymology: The name Mastigodryas, which comes from the Greek words mastigos (meaning “whip”) and dryas (a tree-nymph),¹⁷ refers to the long whip-like tail in snakes of this genus. The specific epithet pulchriceps, which comes from the Latin words pulcher (meaning “beautiful”) and ceps (meaning “head”), refers to the ornate pattern of blotches and stripes on the head of juveniles of this species.³

See it in the wild: Individuals of Mastigodryas pulchriceps may be encountered at rate of about once every week in some areas throughout the species’ distribution. Tidy Tropical-Racers are particularly abundant in the general area of Mindo, Mashpi, Canandé Reserve, and Otongachi Reserve. They are also frequently reported in the valleys surrounding the cities Quito and Ibarra, in northern Ecuador. The snakes may be spotted as they cross trails and roads in areas having adequate vegetation cover, especially during sunny mornings.

Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Diego Piñán for providing locality and natural history data for Mastigodryas pulchriceps as well as for finding three of the specimens photographed in this account.

Author: Alejandro Arteaga^aAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.

Photographers: Jose Vieira^bAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.^,cAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador. and Alejandro Arteaga^aAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.

How to cite? Arteaga A (2022) Tidy Tropical-Racer (Mastigodryas pulchriceps). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/LCQQ1911

Literature cited:

1. Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
2. Peters JA, Orejas-Miranda B (1970) Catalogue of Neotropical Squamata: part I, snakes. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, Washington, D.C., 347 pp.
3. Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Guayasamin JM (2013) The amphibians and reptiles of Mindo. Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, 257 pp.
4. Montingelli GG (2009) Revisão taxonômica do gênero Mastigodryas Amaral, 1934 (Serpentes: Colubridae). PhD thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, 338 pp.
5. Montingelli GG, Valencia JH, Benavides MA, Zaher H (2011) Revalidation of Herpetodryas reticulata (Peters, 1863) (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Ecuador. South American Journal of Herpetology 6: 189–197. DOI: 10.2994/057.006.0304
6. Castro-Herrera F, Valencia-Aguilar A, Villaquirán-Martínez DF (2012) Diversidad de anfibios y reptiles del Parque Nacional Natural Isla Gorgona. Universidad del Valle, Cali, 112 pp.
7. Valencia JH, Garzón-Tello K, Tipantiza-Tuguminago L, Pulluquitín F, Barragán-Paladines ME, Noboa G (2017) Serpientes del Distrito Metropolitano Quito (DMQ), Ecuador, con comentarios sobre su rango geográfico y altitudinal y conservación. Avances en Ciencias e Ingeniería 9: 17–60. DOI: 10.18272/aci.v9i15.305
8. Savit AZ (2006) Reptiles of the Santa Lucía Cloud Forest, Ecuador. Iguana 13: 94–103.
9. Photo by Ryan Lynch.
10. Natera-Mumaw M, Esqueda-González LF, Castelaín-Fernández M (2015) Atlas serpientes de Venezuela. Dimacofi Negocios Avanzados S.A., Santiago de Chile, 456 pp.
11. Savage JM (2002) The amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica, a herpetofauna between two continents, between two seas. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 934 pp.
12. Field notes of Diego Piñán.
13. Video by Diego Piñán.
14. Castañeda MR, Bolívar W, Velasco J, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Yánez-Muñoz M (2017) Mastigodryas pulchriceps. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T203303A2763534.en
15. Reyes-Puig C (2015) Un método integrativo para evaluar el estado de conservación de las especies y su aplicación a los reptiles del Ecuador. MSc thesis, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 73 pp.
16. MAE (2012) Línea base de deforestación del Ecuador continental. Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador, Quito, 30 pp.
17. Brown RW (1956) Composition of scientific words. Smithsonian Books, Washington D.C., 882 pp.

Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Mastigodryas pulchriceps in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used. Asterisk (*) indicates type locality.

Country	Province	Locality	Source
Colombia	Nariño	El Palmichal	Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020
Colombia	Nariño	No specific locality	FMNH 165338
Colombia	Nariño	Reserva Natural Río Ñambi	Bacca Cortes et al. 2019
Ecuador	Azuay	Above Poetate	This work
Ecuador	Azuay	El Tejado	This work
Ecuador	Azuay	La Unión	MZUA.RE.0106
Ecuador	Azuay	Luz María	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Azuay	Puente de Chaucha	Photo by Ernesto Arbeláez
Ecuador	Azuay	Reserva Biológica Yunguilla	MZUA.RE.0073
Ecuador	Azuay	Santa Isabel	MZUA.RE.0036
Ecuador	Azuay	Susudel	Photo by Ernesto Arbeláez
Ecuador	Bolívar	Balzapamba	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Cañar	El Chorro	This work
Ecuador	Cañar	Huatacón	This work
Ecuador	Carchi	Chical, 6 km S of	DHMECN 12765
Ecuador	Carchi	Chinambí	This work
Ecuador	Carchi	Dracula Reserve	Online multimedia
Ecuador	Carchi	Tobar Donoso	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Chaguarapata	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Gonzol, 2.5 km NW of	This work
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Sacramento	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Tixán, 2.5 km SW of	This work
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Tixán, 2.6 km NE of	This work
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Valle del Chanchán	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Cotopaxi	Bosque Integral Otonga	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Cotopaxi	Bosque Privado El Jardín de los Sueños	Photo by Christophe Pellet
Ecuador	Cotopaxi	Las Juntas	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Cotopaxi	Las Pampas	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Cotopaxi	Recinto Galápagos	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Cotopaxi	Yakusinchi	Photo by Jane Sloan
Ecuador	El Oro	Buenaventura Biological Reserve	This work
Ecuador	El Oro	California	This work
Ecuador	El Oro	Cascadas de Manuel	DHMECN 11542
Ecuador	El Oro	El Guayabo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	El Oro	Portovelo	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Alto Tambo	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Bilsa Biological Reserve	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Bosque El Edén	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Bulún	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Caimito	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Camino al Río Mira	EPN-H 2556
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Canandé Biological Reserve	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Centro de Fauna Silvestre James Brown	Photo by Salvador Palacios
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Cerro Gatazo	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Cerro Zapallo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Estero Agua Viva	DHMECN 2900
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Estero Molina	EPN-H 4455
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Gualpi	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Itapoa Reserve	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Lote Salvadores	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Monte Saíno	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Playa de Oro	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Río Blanco	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Río San Francisco	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Río Santiago	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	San Javier	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Trail between Rivers San Miguel and Grande	MCZ 153154
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Tundaloma Lodge	This work
Ecuador	Esmeraldas	Verdecanandé	This work
Ecuador	Guayas	Balao	MZLU l892/3135
Ecuador	Guayas	Cerro de Hayas	This work
Ecuador	Imbabura	Antonio Ante	DHMECN 9307
Ecuador	Imbabura	Cahuasquí	This work
Ecuador	Imbabura	Chachimbiro	Photo by Diego Piñán
Ecuador	Imbabura	El Olivo	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Imbabura	El Refugio de Intag	Photo by Peter Joost
Ecuador	Imbabura	Hostería Tunas y Cabras	DHMECN 13283
Ecuador	Imbabura	Intag	Photo by John Castillo
Ecuador	Imbabura	Near Tumbabiro	This work
Ecuador	Imbabura	Pablo Arenas	EPN-H 12724
Ecuador	Imbabura	Paramba	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Imbabura	Pimampiro	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Imbabura	Quiroga	EPN-H 13076
Ecuador	Imbabura	Reserva Manduriacu	DHMECN 16722
Ecuador	Imbabura	Urcuquí	DHMECN 9307
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Centro Científico Río Palenque	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Playas de Montalvo	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Los Ríos	Puerto de Ilá	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Manabí	Ayampe	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Manabí	Bosque La Esperanza	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Manabí	Cerro Pata de Pájaro	EPN-H 13074
Ecuador	Manabí	Maicito	EPN-H 9065
Ecuador	Manabí	Reserva Ayampe	DHMEC 10060
Ecuador	Manabí	Reserva Ecológica Mache-Chindul	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Manabí	Reserva Jama Coaque	Photo by Javier Aznar
Ecuador	Pichincha	Barrio Chiviquí	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Barrio la Borrega	This work
Ecuador	Pichincha	Calderón	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Carapungo	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Cascadas Verdes	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Cerro Catequilla	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Chaupicruz	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Club Campestre Ilaló	Yánez-Muñoz et al. 2009
Ecuador	Pichincha	Club Pucará	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Colinas del Norte	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Collaquí	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Country Club FAE	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Cumbayá	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Entrada de Nayón	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Estación Chiquilpe	Valencia & Garzón 2011
Ecuador	Pichincha	Granda Centeno	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Guangopolo	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Guayllabamba	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Hayulima	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Iñaquito Alto	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	La Marín	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	La Pampa	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Las Tolas, 4 km S of	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Llano Grande	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Maquipucuna	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Pichincha	Marianitas	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Mashpi Lodge	This work
Ecuador	Pichincha	Masphi (town), 2 km S of	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Mindo	Photo by Viviana Morales
Ecuador	Pichincha	Mindo Gardens	This work
Ecuador	Pichincha	Monjas	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Nanegal, 3 km E of	iNaturalist
Ecuador	Pichincha	Nanegalito	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Pacto	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Pichincha	Parque Jerusalém	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Parque Lineal de Quitumbe	DHMECN 13122
Ecuador	Pichincha	Parque Metropolitano Guangüiltagua	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Pintag	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Pirca	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Pomasqui	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Ponceano Alto	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Puéllaro	EPN-H 9154
Ecuador	Pichincha	Puembo	Photo by Ernesto Arbeláez
Ecuador	Pichincha	Pusuquí	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Quebrada Pumacho	Photo by Ernesto Arbeláez
Ecuador	Pichincha	Quito*	Cope 1868
Ecuador	Pichincha	Quito, Av. 12 de Octubre	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Rancho Suamox	Photo by Rafael Ferro
Ecuador	Pichincha	Río Machángara	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Río Pisque	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Río San Pedro	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Ruinas de Marieta	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	San Antonio	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	San Roque	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Santa Lucía Cloud Forest Reserve	Savit 2006
Ecuador	Pichincha	Santa Teresa	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Tababela	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Tanda	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Tandapi	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Pichincha	Tandayapa Bird Lodge	This work
Ecuador	Pichincha	Terreno de Eric Osterman en Mindo	This work
Ecuador	Pichincha	Trigoloma	Valencia et al. 2017
Ecuador	Pichincha	Tumbaco	Arteaga et al. 2013
Ecuador	Santa Elena	Reserva Ecológica Loma Alta	Luis Amador, pers. comm.
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Bosque Protector La Perla	Photo by Plácido Palacios
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Finca la Esperanza	EPN-H 9558
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Otongachi Reserve	This work
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Río Baba	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Río Mulaule	EPN-H 9142
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	San Miguel de los Colorados	Montingelli et al. 2011
Ecuador	Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas	Santo Domingo de los Colorados	Arteaga et al. 2013

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