Published April 20, 2021. Open access. | Gallery ❯ |
Teresita’s Coffee-Snake (Ninia teresitae)
Reptiles of Ecuador | Serpentes | Colubridae | Ninia | Ninia teresitae
English common names: Teresita’s Coffee-Snake, Chocoan Coffee-Snake.
Spanish common names: Culebra cafetera de Teresitae, viejita del Chocó.
Recognition: ♂♂ 49.4 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=38.2 cm. ♀♀ 43.4 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=34.6 cm..1,2 In northwestern Ecuador, the Chocoan Coffee-Snake (Ninia teresitae) can be distinguished from other snakes by having strongly keeled scales arranged in 19 rows at mid-body, two prefrontal scales, dark grayish brown dorsal surfaces, and ventral surfaces of head and body dingy white with various degrees of brown dusting.1,2 In Ecuador, the most similar species that may be found living alongside Ninia teresitae are snakes in the genera Diaphorolepis, Emmochliophis, and Synophis, all of which have fused prefrontal scales.3,4 Juveniles of N. teresitae have a withish nuchal band that becomes fainter with age.
Natural history: FrequentRecorded weekly in densities below five individuals per locality.. Ninia teresitae is a terrestrial, semi-fossorial (living underground and at ground level), nocturnal and crepuscular snake that inhabits old-growth evergreen forests. The species appears to be more common in human-modified environments such as cattle pastures, plantations,5 rural gardens, and towns.1–3 Most Chocoan Coffe-Snakes are seen foraging on the forest floor at night, but they also have been seen on vegetation 25 cm above the ground.6 During the daytime, individuals hide under bricks, logs, or fallen bromeliads.6 They are harmless and docile snakes; however, during handling, individuals can exhibit anti-predator displays such as hiding the head under body coils, crouching, and cloacal discharges. There are records of Chocoan Coffee-Snakes being preyed upon by coral snakes (Micrurus transandinus).6 It is expected that, like its congeners, N. teresitae probably feeds on snails, slugs, earthworms, and leeches.3,7
Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances.. Given the recent description of Ninia teresitae,1 this snake has not been formally evaluated by the IUCN Red List. Notwithstanding, the species meets the criteria8 for being included in the Least Concern category. Ninia teresitae is widely distributed throughout the Chocoan lowlands, especially in areas that have not been heavily affected by deforestation, like the Colombian Pacific coast. The species thrives in human-modified habitats, and, throughout its distribution range, it has populations within protected areas. Therefore, the species is considered to be facing no major immediate extinction threats.
Distribution: Ninia teresitae has a broad distribution range across the Chocó-Magdalena biogeographic region, from northwestern Ecuador through the Pacific coast of Colombia, to the basins of the rivers Cauca and Magdalena in northern Colombia. In Ecuador, this species has been recorded at elevations between 8 and 1598 m (Fig. 2).
Etymology: The generic name Ninia was erected by Baird and Girard in 1853 without any reference regarding its Greek or Latin root. However, Ninia was one of the many names in Greek mythology used to refer to Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, a legendary musician, poet, and prophet. According to the myth, Eurydice dies after her wedding by stepping on a viper. Orpheus goes mad by losing his only love and travels to the underworld to retrieve her. He plays his softened music so extraordinarily that that Hades (God of death) and Persephone (Queen of death) allow him to take Eurydice back to the world of the living.9 As far as is known, Ninia does not have Latin roots. The specific epithet teresitae is the Latin translation of the Spanish nickname “Teresita,” given in honor of the grandmother of the first author who described the species.1
See it in the wild: Individuals of Ninia teresitae can be seen active at night in forested or agricultural areas throughout the species’ area of distribution. They are also likely to be found during daytime by actively removing leaf-litter, piles of leaves, or fallen objects in agricultural areas, especially in African palm plantations. In Ecuador, the area having the greatest number of observations of Teresita’s Coffee-Snake is Mindo, a valley and town in Pichincha province.
Authors: Teddy Angarita-SierraaAffiliation: Yoluka ONG, Fundación de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Bogotá, Colombia.,bAffiliation: Vicerrectoría de Investigación, Universidad Manuela Beltrán, Bogotá, Colombia. and Alejandro ArteagacAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.
Photographer: Jose VieiracAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.,dAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador.
How to cite? Angarita-Sierra T, Arteaga A (2021) Teresita’s Coffee-Snake (Ninia teresitae). 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/PUID3000
Literature cited:
- Angarita-Sierra T, Lynch JD (2017) A new species of Ninia (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from Chocó-Magdalena biogeographical province, western Colombia. Zootaxa 4244: 478–492. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4244.4.2
- Angarita-Sierra T (2018) Range expansion in the geographic distribution of Ninia teresitae (Serpentes: Dipsadidae): new localities from northwestern Ecuador. Herpetology Notes 11: 357–360.
- Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Guayasamin JM (2013) The amphibians and reptiles of Mindo. Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, 257 pp.
- Pyron RA, Guayasamin JM, Peñafiel N, Bustamante L, Arteaga A (2015) Systematics of Nothopsini (Serpentes, Dipsadidae), with a new species of Synophis from the Pacific Andean slopes of southwestern Ecuador. ZooKeys 541: 109–147. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.541.6058
- Lynch JD (2015) The role of plantations of the African palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) in the conservation of snakes in Colombia. Caldasia 37: 169–182.
- Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
- Angarita–Sierra T, Lozano–Daza SA (2019) Life is uncertain, eat dessert first: feeding ecology and prey-predator interactions of the coffee snake Ninia atrata. Journal of Natural History 53: 1401–1420. DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.1655105
- IUCN (2001) IUCN Red List categories and criteria: Version 3.1. IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland and Cambridge, 30 pp.
- Bowra CM (1952) Orpheus and Eurydice. Dancing Times 2: 113–126.
Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Ninia teresitae 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 | CORPOICA | Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020 |
Colombia | Nariño | Estación Mar Agrícola | Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020 |
Colombia | Nariño | Plantación Santa Fe | Angarita-Sierra & Lynch 2017 |
Colombia | Nariño | Plantación Santa Helena* | Angarita-Sierra & Lynch 2017 |
Colombia | Nariño | Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Nariño | Pinto-Erazo et al. 2020 |
Ecuador | Carchi | Chical | USNM 286303; photo examined |
Ecuador | Carchi | Rancho San Marcos | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Carchi | Río San Juan | DHMECN 6709; Arteaga et al. 2013 |
Ecuador | Carchi | Tobar Donoso | Torres-Carvajal et al. 2012 |
Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Bosque Privado El Jardín de los Sueños | Photo by Christophe Pellet |
Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Corazón | Angarita-Sierra 2018 |
Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Las Pampas | Angarita-Sierra 2018 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Alto Tambo | USNM 232953; VertNet |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Bosque Protector La Perla | Photo by Plácido Palacios |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Calle Mansa | Morales 2004 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Canandé Biological Reserve | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Centro de Fauna Silvestre James Brown | Photo by Salvador Palacios |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Cerro Ceibo | Photo by Paul Hamilton |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Cresta San Francisco | DHMECN 2893; Arteaga et al. 2013 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Cupa | DHMECN 580; Arteaga et al. 2013 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Finca de Carlos Vásquez | Photo by Carlos Vásquez |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Hacienda Equinox | USNM 232951; VertNet |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Jevon Forest Biological Station | Maynard et al. 2021 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | La Esperanza | DHMECN 213; Arteaga et al. 2013 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Las Mareas | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Quinindé | Angarita-Sierra 2018 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Reserva Itapoa | Photo by Raúl Nieto |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Reserva Tesoro Escondido | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Tundaloma Lodge | Angarita-Sierra 2018 |
Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Viche | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
Ecuador | Imbabura | El Tigre | Online multimedia |
Ecuador | Imbabura | Lita | MHNG 2398.057; collection catalogue |
Ecuador | Manabí | El Carmen | Online multimedia |
Ecuador | Manabí | El Carmen, 3.6 km N of | Angarita-Sierra 2018 |
Ecuador | Manabí | Quinta Los Helechos | Angarita-Sierra 2018 |
Ecuador | Manabí | Río Coaque | Angarita-Sierra & Lynch 2017 |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Finca Elenita | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Hacienda San Vicente | This work |
Ecuador | Pichincha | La Celica | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Mashpi Lodge | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Mindo | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Mindo Garden Lodge | Photo by James Christensen |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Mindo–El Cinto | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Pachijal | USNM 232955; VertNet |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Pampas Argentinas | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Rancho Suamox | iNaturalist; photo examined |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Reserva Las Tangaras | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
Ecuador | Pichincha | Séptimo Paraíso Lodge | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Finca la Esperanza | USNM 232954 |
Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Finca Victoria | MHNG 1069.083; collection catalogue |
Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Puerto Limón | DHMECN 581; Arteaga et al. 2013 |
Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Río Baba | UIMNH 92291; VertNet |
Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Río Toachi | UIMNH 92295; VertNet |
Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Santo Domingo | iNaturalist; photo examined |