Black mussurana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black mussurana |
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Clelia
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clelia
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The black mussurana (scientific name: Clelia clelia) is a type of snake that belongs to the Colubridae family. It is also known as the windward cribo. This snake lives in the New World, which includes North, Central, and South America.
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About the Black Mussurana
The black mussurana is a large snake. Adult snakes can grow up to 2.1 meters (about 7 feet) long. That's longer than most grown-ups are tall!
What Does it Look Like?
Adult black mussuranas are usually black, gray, or olive-gray on their backs. Their bellies are a yellowish-white color.
Young black mussuranas look quite different. They are pale brown or red. They have a black head and a bright yellow band around their neck.
Where Does it Live?
You can find the black mussurana in many places. It lives in Central America and South America. It also lives on some islands in the Lesser Antilles, like Trinidad.
What Does it Eat?
The black mussurana is a special kind of snake because it mostly eats other snakes! This is called being "ophiophagous." It especially likes to eat venomous snakes. These include snakes from groups like Bothriechis, Bothrops, Crotalus, Lachesis, Micrurus, and Porthidium.
Even though they love snakes, black mussuranas also eat other animals. Their diet can include lizards, snake eggs, opossums, rodents, birds, small mammals, and even snails.
How Does it Have Babies?
The black mussurana is an oviparous animal. This means that the female snake lays eggs. The baby snakes then hatch from these eggs.
Different Kinds of Black Mussuranas
There are two main types, or subspecies, of the black mussurana. They are:
- Clelia clelia clelia
- Clelia clelia groomei
The second type, groomei, is named after a zoologist from Grenada named John R. Groome.
