Platyceps najadum
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P. najadum
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| Platyceps najadum (Eichwald, 1831)
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Platyceps najadum, known commonly as Dahl's whip snake, is a species of snake in the genus Platyceps of the family Colubridae. It was first described by Karl Eichwald in 1831.[1]
Contents
Geographic range
Platyceps najadum is found in the Balkans, Aegean, Cyprus, the Mid-East, and as far as Turkmenistan and the Caucasus Mountains.[3]
Habitat
P. najadum occurs in dry and xeric environments in a wide range of habitats: in desert and rocky land, in forests, woodland scrub, and agricultural land from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) altitude. It is commonly found in fields, and seen crushed on roads.
Description
It has a slim body rarely over a metre (39 inches) in total length (including tail).[4]
Conservation status
This snake is threatened by direct persecution, forest fires and intensive agriculture, where range interacts with human interests.[1]
Biology
P. najadum is an egg laying species. Females lay between 3 and 16 eggs in a clutch.[1]
Subspecies
Five[1] or six[2] subspecies are identified.
- Platyceps najadum albitemporalis (Darevsky & Orlov, 1994)
- Platyceps najadum atayevi (Tuniyev & Shammakov, 1993), Kopet Dag, Iran/Turkmenistan
- Platyceps najadum dahlii (Fitzinger, 1826), Balkans, Cyprus, Aegean Turkey
- Platyceps najadum kalymnensis (B. Schneider, 1979), endemic to Kalymnos island, the Aegean
- Platyceps najadum najadum (Eichwald, 1831), Caucasus and Asia Minor
- Platyceps najadum schmidtleri (Schätti & McCarthy, 2001, Zagros mountains, Iran
Etymology
Both the subspecific name, dahlii, and the common name, Dahl's whip snake, are in honor of Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.[5]
Indigenous names
Σαϊτα (Greek), Saita.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Platyceps najadum ". The Reptile Database. http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Platyceps&species=najadum&search_param=%28%28search%3D%27Platyceps+najadum%27%29%29
- ↑ "Platyceps najadum ". French language Wikipédia.
- ↑ http://wildlife-archipelago.gr/wordpress/reptiles/dahls-whip-snake
- ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Platyceps najadum dahlii, p. 64).
Further reading
- Arnold EN, Burton JA. 1978. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. (Illustrated by D.W. Ovenden). London: Collins. 272 pp. + Plates 1-40. ISBN 0-00-219318-3. (Coluber najadum, pp. 194–195 + Plate 35, figure 4 + Map 106).
- Eichwald [K]E. 1831. Zoologia specialis quam expositis animalibus tum vivis, tum fossilibus potissimum Rossiae in universum, et Poloniae in specie, in usum lectionum publicarum, in Universitate Caesarea Vilnensi [Volume 3]. Vilnius: J. Zawadzki. 404 pp. + one plate. (Tyria najadum, new species, p. 174). (in Latin).
External links
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