NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Modest Ground Snake
Atractus modestus Boulenger, 1894
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Atractus modestus is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. In English the species goes by the common name modest ground snake while in Spanish it goes by tierrera modesta or culebra tierrera modesta.
Males can grow to 27.3 cm (10.7 in) and females to 32.8 cm (12.9 in) in snout–vent length. The species reproduces sexually. The species has been labeled as vulnerable by the IUCN.
The species can be found in western Ecuador. It is locally frequent in Mindo, Ecuador. The species has been reported in elevations at 1019 m to 1780 m or 2,400–2,560 m (7,870–8,400 ft) above sea level.
Wikipedia contributors, Atractus modestus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:24:06.846857+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Atractus modestus Boulenger, 1894
- Name authority
- Boulenger, 1894
- Common name
- Modest Ground Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Atractus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyDipsadinae
- genusAtractus
- speciesAtractus modestus Boulenger, 1894
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Atractus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Speckled Ground SnakeAtractus ventrimaculatus Boulenger, 1905 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atractus orcesi Savage, 1955 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atractus edioi da Silva, Rodrigues Silva, Ribeiro, Souza & DO Amaral Souza, 2005 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Reticulate Ground SnakeAtractus reticulatus (Boulenger, 1885) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Emigdio’s Ground SnakeAtractus emigdioi González-Sponga, 1971 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cerberus GroundsnakeAtractus cerberus Arteaga, Mebert, Valencia, Cisneros-Heredia, Peñafiel, Reyes-Puig, Vieira-Fernandes & Guayasamin, 2017 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indistinct GroundsnakeAtractus esepe Arteaga, Mebert, Valencia, Cisneros-Heredia, Peñafiel, Reyes-Puig, Vieira-Fernandes & Guayasamin, 2017 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atractus aboiporu Melo-Sampaio, Passos, Fouquet, Costa-Prudente & Torres-Carvajal, 2019 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atractus attenuatus Myers & Schargel, 2006 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atractus akerios Melo-Sampaio, Passos, Prudente, Venegas & Torres-Carvajal, 2021 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atractus nawa Melo-Sampaio, Passos, Prudente, Venegas & Torres-Carvajal, 2021 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Atractus pachacamac Melo-Sampaio, Passos, Prudente, Venegas & Torres-Carvajal, 2021 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Atractus&species=modestus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:JK29. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.