About Borikenophis portoricensis (Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862)
The Puerto Rican racer (Borikenophis portoricensis) has a solid brown body, with each individual scale edged in darker brown. This species has a neck hood that is similar to a cobra’s hood, but narrower. It exposes this hood by raising the front quarter of its body off the ground, in the same manner as cobras of the genus Naja. Unlike Naja snakes, B. portoricensis does not freely use this hood-displaying behavior as an intimidation tactic. It generally only displays this behavior during offensive action after being provoked; the typical sequence is adopting the hood-raised posture, followed by a confident strike. The Puerto Rican racer is endemic to the island of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It moves through trees in Toro Negro State Forest, and has also been observed in El Yunque National Forest.
