Leptodrymus

Leptodrymus is a small genus in the family Colubridae, the largest and most diverse snake family on Earth. It contains a single widely recognized species, the Striped Lowland Snake (Leptodrymus pulcherrimus), found in the Pacific lowlands of Central America from southern Mexico through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and into Costa Rica. As a colubrid it belongs to the broad assemblage of typical, mostly harmless snakes that includes racers, whipsnakes, and ratsnakes, and it shares the racer body plan: long, lean, and quick.

Members of this genus are slender and alert, with a long tapering body, large eyes suited to daytime hunting, and a pattern of pale longitudinal stripes running the length of the body, which is where the common name comes from. They favor open and semi-open habitats in tropical dry and lowland forest, brushy edges, and disturbed ground, where their speed and slim build let them move quickly through grass and leaf litter. Like other racer-type colubrids they are active by day, ground-dwelling foragers that rely on vision and speed rather than ambush.

This is a harmless snake to people. It is not a member of any dangerously venomous family such as vipers or elapids, and it poses no medical threat through a bite. Some colubrids are technically rear-fanged with mild saliva that helps subdue small prey, but that has no meaningful effect on humans. Ecologically these are diurnal hunters of small vertebrates such as lizards and frogs and likely small prey typical of fast lowland colubrids, and like most snakes in this family they are egg-laying. As a general rule, observe any wild snake from a distance and do not handle it; if you are ever bitten by a snake you cannot confidently identify, contact emergency services or US Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.