Fun Mussurana Facts For Kids
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Mussurana is a common name that is used to refer to seven snake species of the Clelia genus. These species are Clelia clelia, Clelia equatoriana, Clelia errabunda, Clelia hussami, Clelia langeri, Clelia plumbea, and Clelia scytalina.
They are also known as pseudoboa and as zopilota by many. These reptiles are quite large and have an average length of 4.9 ft (1.4 m).
They can even grow as long as 8.2 ft (2.4 m)! Mussuranas weigh between the range of 2.6-3 lb (1,200-1,400 g). They can be spotted in dense ground-level vegetation and they are snake feeders primarily.
They utilize their strong 10-15 teeth present at the back of their mouth to successfully catch their prey's head. They have been observed to coil around their victim, and then kill it through constriction.
They have a brown or blue-black coloration on their dorsal side and yellowish or off-white coloration on their ventral side. Juveniles of mussuranas have a pink to bright red coloration along with an off-white collar. They are endemic to South and Central America and Clelia species can be spotted from southern Mexico towards Brazil.
The mussurana (Clelia clelia) can be found mainly in a region that comprises Costa Rica, starting from Guatemala and going towards Brazil. These snakes have never been proven to be fatal to humans.
Even while being handled, they do not give bites. They are even kept as pets by some American farmers! Keep reading to discover more about this interesting species.
If you enjoyed reading our musssurana facts, you must check out our kingsnake and cottonmouth snake articles for kids!
Mussurana Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a mussurana?
Mussurana is a common name that is used to refer to seven snake species of the genus Clelia. They are also known as pseudoboa and as zopilota by many. They feed upon other venomous snakes like pit vipers. Farmers even keep adults as pets due to the diet preference of these reptiles.
What class of animal does a mussurana belong to?
All species of the Clelia genus belong to the class Reptilia.
How many mussuranas are there in the world?
The exact population of these reptiles has not been evaluated yet. These species have not all been studied properly and they are not spotted easily.
Where does a mussurana live?
These reptiles are endemic to South America and Central America. Clelia species can be spotted from southern Mexico towards Brazil. The mussurana (Clelia clelia) can be spotted mainly in a region that comprises Costa Rica, starting from Guatemala and going towards Brazil. They can be spotted in dense ground-level vegetation.
What is a mussurana's habitat?
These reptiles inhabit densely forested regions. They are mainly nocturnal and have been observed to hunt at night time. They become active after sunset and they are excellent at camouflaging with their surroundings so as to go undetected. They prefer to look for food through leaf litter and underbrush.
Who do mussuranas live with?
These reptiles mainly live in solitary conditions. They only come together during the breeding season which is in spring.
How long does a mussurana live?
These reptiles can live up to 11.5-12 years in captivity. Their lifespan in the wild is unknown.
How do they reproduce?
These reptiles are oviparous (egg-laying). These species perform courtship rituals during which the female has been observed to get quite aggressive, and might even kill the male and eat him.
The gestation period is about 47 days long, after which, the female lays a clutch of approximately nine to 25 eggs, 11 on average, in spring, that is in the early days of March. These eggs take approximately three to four months to hatch.
The juveniles of Clilia have a light pink to bright red dorsal side coloration and an off-white to yellow ventral side coloration.
These young go through appearance changes at various life stages. They become blue as they mature.
What is their conservation status?
Mussuranas are protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Act by law. These species have become rare primarily due to the disappearance of their prey.
Many populations of these species have become extinct in their habitats, but not all species have been evaluated by the IUCN. The species Clelia clelia has been classified under the Least Concern category by the IUCN's Red List.
Mussurana Fun Facts
What do mussuranas look like?
The mussurana is a large snake that has a blue-black coloration on its dorsal side and a yellow or off-white coloration on its ventral side. Juveniles of this snake have a pink to bright red coloration along with an off-white collar and a black crown.
Adults primarily prey upon snakes and have 10-15 strong teeth present at the back of their mouth to successfully catch their prey's head.
How cute are they?
These reptiles are definitely not cute. Mussuranas might not be attractive in appearance, but plenty of American farmers find them very useful as pets because these reptiles keep their cattle relatively safe from vipers.
How do they communicate?
Snakes utilize their vomeronasal system to follow potential victims. These reptiles communicate with other snakes through chemical cues. Mussurana snakes can kill their victims using venom as well as constriction. Due to this behavior, they are known as pseudoboa snakes. However, both methods are not used on the same prey.
How big is a mussurana?
It is quite large and an adult has an average length of 4.9 ft (1.4 m). It can grow as long as 8.2 ft (2.4 m). The length of the king cobra is almost double that of a mussurana!
How fast can a mussurana move?
Just like all other reptile species, mussurana snakes move stealthily but have the ability to strike rapidly. Their exact speed has not been evaluated yet.
How much does a mussurana weigh?
The mussurana weighs between the range of 2.6-3 lb (1,200-1,400 g).
What are their male and female names of the species?
Male and female mussuranas do not have special names based on their gender.
What would you call a baby mussurana ?
A young mussurana can be referred to as a snakelet. Snakelets look quite different from adults as they have an entirely different pattern and coloration.
What do they eat?
Mussuranas are snake feeders primarily. Heat-sensing pits in the species Clelia clelia are absent, thus it utilizes its tongue to taste an air molecule to determine prey scent.
They utilize their 10-15 strong teeth present at the back of their mouth to successfully catch their prey's head. They have also been observed to coil around their victim, and then kill it through constriction.
The victim snake's body gets compressed so that it can easily move through the gastrointestinal system of the mussurana. They feed upon venomous snakes as they are immune to the venom of those snakes.
They feed especially upon South and Central American pit vipers. They are kept as pets by farmers due to their ability to feed upon pit vipers.
Mussurana snakes are also known to prey upon small mammals and mussuranas in captivity are known to accept only snakes that are alive as feed. The black Cribo (Clelia clelia) feeds on snakes like the Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops atrox) and the poisonous Mapepire balsain.
Are they poisonous?
Yes, these snakes are venomous. However, their venom is not that strong and their bites have never proven to be fatal towards humans.
Would they make a good pet?
Yes, these snakes can be quite useful. They are kept as pets by farmers in order to clear their surroundings of pit vipers which cause the death of many domestic animals. A Brazillian plan to breed mussuranas and spread them to control pit vipers was implemented in the '30s but it did not go as expected.
Did you know...
Mussurana snakes are not immune to the venom of the mighty coral snake!
The name of the genus of this snake was derived from the Latin name 'Cloelia' that is a name of a girl, meaning 'famous' or 'illustrious'. According to Roman legend, Cloelia was a heroine who was held by an Etruscan invader as a hostage.
However, Cloelia escaped from this invader by swimming to the other side of the Tiber river!
How often do mussuranas shed their skin?
As a snake grows, it outgrows its skin, so the snake has to shed its skin's outer layer. The shedding of the skin allows the snake to grow and also helps in removing any parasites that might have attached themselves to the skin. Skin is shed often by this snake, as soon as it outgrows it.
Is the mussurana endemic?
Mussuranas are endemic to South America and Central America.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles from our blue-tongued skink surprising facts and crocodile skink fun facts pages!
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable mussurana coloring pages!
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