Seychelles wolf snake
| Seychelles wolf snake | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Subfamily: | |
| Genus: |
Lycognathophis
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| Species: |
L. seychellensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Lycognathophis seychellensis |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Seychelles wolf snake, Lycognathophis seychellensis, is a species of snake in the Colubridae family. It is monotypic within the genus Lycognathophis.[citation needed] The New Latin name, Lycognathophis, is derived from the Greek words λύκος (lykos) meaning "wolf", υνάθος (gnathos) meaning "jaw", and όψις (ophis) meaning "snake", referring to the snake's dentition.[5]
Geographic range
It is endemic to Seychelles.[1]
Description
This species has 20-22 large, subequal maxillary teeth and its anterior mandibular teeth are very large, much larger than in the posterior. Its head is very distinct from the neck. The eye is moderate, with a vertically elliptic pupil but no loreal shield. Body elongate; dorsal scales keeled, with apical pits, in 17 rows. Tail long; anal divided; subcaudals paired. Ventrals 184-202; subcaudals 92-110.
Dorsally yellowish or grayish brown, uniform or with dark brown spots; dark streak on each side of head, passing through eye; upper lip yellowish, usually with brown dots; posteriorly four series of brown spots, confluent into stripes on tail. Ventrally yellowish, usually powdered or dotted with brown; a brown spot at each outer end of anterior ventrals.
Adults may attain 1 m (40 inches) in total length, with a tail 31 cm (12 inches) long.[3]
Habitat
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Conservation status
It is threatened by habitat loss.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I. London.
- ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ Mish, F.C., Editor in Chief. 2004. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Merriam-Webster. Springfield, Massachusetts.
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