Geophis nigroalbus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Geophis nigroalbus |
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Geophis nigroalbus is a small type of snake that lives in the Andes mountains of Colombia. It's part of a group of snakes called colubrids. People sometimes call it the goo-eater snake or the Colombian earth snake. This snake is special because it's found only in Colombia.
Where This Snake Lives
This snake, Geophis nigroalbus, has been found in a few places in Colombia. It lives in the Western Andes mountains. Recently, it was also discovered in the Magdalena Valley. This valley is on the western side of the Eastern Andes mountains.
What It Looks Like
Geophis nigroalbus is a small snake. An adult male snake found in the Magdalena Valley was about 30.9 centimeters (12.2 inches) long from its snout to its tail. Its tail was about 6.5 centimeters (2.6 inches) long.
The top of its body and tail are completely black. Its belly is a creamy color with black spots. The underside of its tail is black with a few creamy patches.
Snakes have special scales on their bellies called ventral scales. Males of this species have between 134 and 149 ventral scales. Females have between 141 and 157. They also have scales under their tails called subcaudal scales. Males have 42 to 51 of these, while females have 37 to 46.
Where It Lives and How It's Protected
Geophis nigroalbus is a fossorial species. This means it spends most of its time living underground or burrowing in the soil. It lives in wet forests in the mountains. These forests are found at heights between 1,037 and 1,680 meters (about 3,402 to 5,512 feet) above sea level.
One snake found in the Magdalena Valley was looking for food at night. It was moving through the fallen leaves on the forest floor. This happened after a heavy rainstorm.
This snake is quite rare. Most of the time, scientists only find one snake at a time. The biggest danger to Geophis nigroalbus is when its forest home is lost or damaged.
