Atractus clarki
{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Atractus clarki 70238638.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Atractus
| species = clarki
| authority = Dunn & Bailey, 1939
}}
Atractus clarki, Clark's ground snake, is a rare species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is one of only five species of the very diverse (>150 species) genus Atractus that enters political North America.
Distribution
The species can be found in extreme southern Panama, the Pacific coast of Colombia and northwestern Ecuador.{{Cite web |last=Arteaga |first=A |date=2024 |title=Red-naped Ground Snake (Atractus clarki) |url=https://www.reptilesofecuador.com/atractus_clarki.html |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Reptiles of Ecuador}} The species was first collected in 1938 from Santa Cruz de Cana, a 16th century gold mine on the eastern flank of the Serranía de Pirre mountains close to the Colombian border.{{Cite journal |last=Dunn |first=E.R. |last2=Bailey |first2=J.R. |date=1939 |title=Snakes from the uplands of the Canal Zone and of Darien |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21003#page/5/mode/1up |journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College |volume=86 |issue=1 |pages=1-22 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}} A second specimen from adjacent Colombia was collected in 1919 but not correctly identified until 2003.{{Cite journal |last=Myers |first=Charles W. |year=2003 |title=Rare Snakes—Five New Species from Eastern Panama: Reviews of Northern Atractus and Southern Geophis (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/itempdf/292693 |journal=American Museum Novitates |language=en |issue=3391 |pages=1–47 |doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2003)391<0001:RSFNSF>2.0.CO;2 |issn=0003-0082}} The species is now known from numerous records in Ecuador and Colombia.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-28 |title=Atractus clarki |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?subview=map&taxon_id=27914 |website=iNaturalist}}
Biology
Atractus clarki is a small, nocturnal species that preys mainly on soil-dwelling invertebrates like earthworms. This snake is characterized by its brown dorsal pattern and lighter ventral side, with a bright red collar around its neck and head that they rely on as a defense tactic towards predators. Atractus clarki may represent a relatively ancestral form based on the shape of its reproductive organs. The specific physical appearance of Atractus clarki differs between male and female. Females are typically larger than males, with males having slightly different dorsal patterns. The species is found in warm, humid climates among soil and leaf litter.{{Cite web |title=Red-naped Ground Snake (Atractus clarki) |url=https://reptilesofecuador.com/atractus_clarki.html |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=reptilesofecuador.com}} It is oviparous.
= Conservation status =
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified this species as Least Concern because of its stable population in the lowlands of valley regions.
Etymology
It is named in honor of Herbert C. Clark, instigator of the Panamanian snake census and first director of the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory.{{Cite web |title=Herbert C. Clark and the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory |url=https://www.facs.org/about-acs/archives/past-highlights/clarkhighlight/ |website=American College of Surgeons}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{NRDB species |genus=Atractus |species=clarki |access-date=8 October 2021}}
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2869659}}
category:Snakes of South America
Category:Reptiles described in 1939
Category:Taxa named by Emmett Reid Dunn
{{Dipsadinae-stub}}