Xenopeltis hainanensis
Xenopeltis hainanensis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Xenopeltidae |
Genus: | Xenopeltis |
Species: | X. hainanensis
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Binomial name | |
Xenopeltis hainanensis Hu & Zhao, 1972
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Synonyms | |
Xenopeltis hainanensis jidamingae - Zhao 1995 |
Xenopeltis hainanensis is a non-venomous
Description
This snake grows to an average of about .5 to 1 m. A
This species differs from its sister taxon Xenopeltis unicolor in several ways. It has a singular postocular scale rather than two, fewer ventral, supralabial, and infralabial scales, a shorter tail, and fewer maxillary teeth.[3]
The holotype of the species is Chengdu Institute of Biology specimen CIB 64III6016, a male collected in 1964. The paratype, CIB 64III6650, is a female collected the same year.
Both species together form the family
characteristics.Geographic range
Xenopeltis hainanensis is found in "isolated pockets"
Habitat
This snake tends to live on forest slopes, at heights between 900 and 1100 metres above sea level.
Behavior
These snakes are not venomous, but are constrictors, killing their prey by suffocation in their muscular coils. They are fossorial and spend most of their time below ground.
Feeding
The diet is varied, consisting primarily of frogs, reptiles, including other snakes, and small mammals. The young look very similar to the adults, except that they have a strong white "collar" of scales evident just below the head. This coloration fades within the first year.
Reproduction
This species of snake is oviparous, with females laying up to 10 eggs at a time.
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Xenopeltis hainanensis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
- ^ Hu, S; Djao [Zhao], E; Huang, Z (1975). "Three new species of reptiles from Hainan Island, Guangdong Province". Acta Zoologica Sinica. 21 (4). Translated by A Koshikawa: 379–384.
- ^ "Encyclopædia Britannica entry on sunbeam snakes". 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
- ^ Nikolai L. Orlov; Robert W. Murphy & Theodore J. Papenfuss (2000). "List of Snakes of Tam-Dao Mountain Ridge (Tonkin, Vietnam)" (PDF). Russian Journal of Herpetology. 7 (1): 69–80.
- ^ "Reptile Database entry on Xenopeltis hainanensis". Retrieved 24 November 2013.
External links
- Xenopeltis hainanensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 18 September 2008.
- Picture of this species of snake