Lycodon travancoricus

Lycodon travancoricus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Lycodon
Species: L. travancoricus
Binomial name
Lycodon travancoricus
(Beddome, 1870)
Synonyms
  • Cercaspis travancoricus Beddome, 1870
  • Lycodon travancoricus
    – Boulenger, 1890
  • Lycodon aulicus travancoricus
    – Constable, 1940
  • Lycodon travancoricus
    – M.A. Smith, 1943[1]

Lycodon travancoricus, commonly known as the Travancore wolf snake, is a species of colubrid snake.

Geographic range

It is found in Pakistan and India (Western Ghats, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha),[2] and also in isolated localities in Kerala and Maharashtra.[3]

Description

Head

[Coloration in alcohol:] Lycodon travancoricus is dark brown or black dorsally, with white crossbands and white lineolations on the sides. Ventrally it is uniform white. It is very similar to Lycodon striatus, but the upper lip is brown, or white spotted with brown.

The dorsal scales are smooth, in 17 rows. The ventrals number 175-202; the anal is entire; and the subcaudals are 56-76, usually double, but sometimes single.

Adults may attain 60 cm (23½ inches) in total length, with a tail 12.5 cm (4⅞ inches) long Maximum 742mm (29 in).[4]

Habitat

It prefers forests, both evergreen and deciduous, on plains and hills.[5]

Behavior

Lycodon travancoricus is nocturnal.[6]

References

  1. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.com.
  2. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ↑ Das, Indraneil. 2002. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. (Lycodon travancoricus, p. 39)
  4. ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I., Containing the Families...Colubridæ... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. p. 355 & Plate XXIV., figure 3.
  5. ↑ Das, 2002, p. 39.
  6. ↑ Das, 2002, p. 39.

Further reading

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