Ahaetulla isabellina

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Wall's vine snake
Green vine.jpg
In Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Ahaetuliinae
Genus: Ahaetulla
Species:
A. isabellina
Binomial name
Ahaetulla isabellina
(Wall, 1910)
Synonyms [1]

Dryophis mycterizans isabellinusWall, 1910

Ahaetulla isabellina, [1] [2] also known as Wall's vine snake, [3] is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered a subspecies of A. nasuta , which is now considered to only be endemic to Sri Lanka. A 2020 study found A. nasuta to be a species complex of A. nasuta sensu stricto as well as A. borealis , A. farnsworthi , A. isabellina, and A. malabarica , elevating A. isabellina to species. The specific epithet is a reference to the isabelline yellow coloration of the species' dorsal body in live condition, which distinguishes it from other species in the complex. [2]

Ahaetulla isabellina from Western Ghats, Central Kerala Ahaetulla isabellina.jpg
Ahaetulla isabellina from Western Ghats, Central Kerala

Geographic range

This species is distributed in the southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala south of the Palghat Gap, from the Anaimalai Hills south to Kalakkad reserve forest area, although more work is needed to determine the southern limit of the species' range. [2]

Habitat

This species is found in evergreen forests of the Western Ghats from ~550 m to 1475 above sea level. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ahaetulla nasuta</i> Species of venomous, snake

Ahaetulla nasuta, also known as Sri Lankan green vine snake and long-nosed whip snake, is a venomous, slender green tree snake endemic to Sri Lanka.

<i>Ahaetulla dispar</i> Species of reptile

Ahaetulla dispar, the Gunther's vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the Western Ghats. It is primarily restricted to the Shola forests of the Southern Western Ghats where it is found often on high-elevation montane grasslands and the low shrub belts.

<i>Ahaetulla fronticincta</i> Species of snake

Günther's whipsnake, Burmese vine snake or river vine snake is a species of fish-eating vine snake found in Southeast Asia.

<i>Ahaetulla perroteti</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla perroteti, known commonly as the bronze-headed vine snake, Perrotet's vine snake, or the Western Ghats bronzeback, is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats in South India.

<i>Ahaetulla prasina</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla prasina is an arboreal, moderately venomous species of opisthoglyphous vine snake in the family Colubridae, found in Southern and Southeast Asia. Its common names include the Asian vine snake, Boie's whip snake, Gunther's whip snake, and the Oriental whip snake.

<i>Ahaetulla pulverulenta</i> Species of snake

Brown-speckled whipsnake or brown vine snake is a species of colubrid vine snake endemic to Sri Lanka.

<i>Ahaetulla</i> Genus of snakes

Ahaetulla, commonly referred to as Asian vine snakes or Asian whip snakes, is a genus of colubrid snakes distributed throughout tropical Asia. They are considered by some scientists to be mildly venomous and are what is commonly termed as 'rear-fanged' or more appropriately, opisthoglyphous, meaning their enlarged teeth or fangs, intended to aid in venom delivery, are located in the back of the upper jaw, instead of in the front as they are in vipers or cobras. As colubrids, Ahaetulla do not possess a true venom gland or a sophisticated venom delivery system. The Duvernoy's gland of this genus, homologous to the venom gland of true venomous snakes, produces a secretion which, though not well studied, is considered not to be medically significant to humans.

<i>Ahaetulla mycterizans</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla mycterizans, the Malayan green whipsnake or Malayan vine snake, is a slender arboreal colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.

<i>Ahaetulla fasciolata</i> Species of snake

The speckle-headed whipsnake is a species of colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.

<i>Dryophiops</i> Genus of snakes

Dryophiops is a genus of whip snakes of the family Colubridae, containing two species. They are arboreal tree snakes, found in forests in Southeast Asia.

<i>Ahaetulla anomala</i> Species of snake

The variable colored vine snake is a species of opisthoglyphous colubrid vine snake found in Bangladesh and India. It is the first reported sexually dichromatic snake from the Indian Subcontinent, and until 2017 was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the green vine snake, Ahaetulla nasuta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahaetuliinae</span> Subfamily of snakes

The Ahaetuliinae are a subfamily of vine snakes within the family Colubridae that was erected in 2016. They are found from South and Southeast Asia through to Australia.

<i>Dryophiops rubescens</i> Species of snake

Dryophiops rubescens, commonly known as the red whip snake, is a species of snake in the colubrid family from Southeast Asia.

<i>Proahaetulla</i> Genus of snakes

Proahaetulla is a monotypic genus of vine snake in the family Colubridae. It contains only one species, the keeled vine snake, which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Its natural habitat is montane rainforests of southern Western Ghats.

<i>Ahaetulla borealis</i> Species of tree snake

The northern Western Ghats vine snake is a species of tree snake endemic to the northern Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla farnsworthi</i> Species of tree snake

Farnsworth's vine snake is a species of tree snake endemic to the central Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla malabarica</i> Species of tree snake

The Malabar vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern portion of the central Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla travancorica</i> Species of Reptilia

The Travancore vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla oxyrhyncha</i> Species of snake

The Indian vine snake or long-nosed vine snake is a species of diurnal, mildly venomous, arboreal snake distributed in the lowlands of peninsular India.Often mistakenly believed to peck out peoples' eyes, this misconception has led to widespread wanton killing of this species.

<i>Ahaetulla sahyadrensis</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla sahyadrensis is a species of tree snake endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is also reported from Bangladesh.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ahaetulla isabellina at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Srikanthan, Achyuthan N.; Pal, Saunak P.; D’souza, Princia Margaret; Shanker, Kartik; Ganesh, Sumaithangi Rajagopalan (6 November 2020). "Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India". Zootaxa. 4874 (1): 1–62. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4874.1.1. PMID   33311335. S2CID   228823754.
  3. 1 2 "The discovery of five new species of vine snakes in India". phys.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  4. Staff Reporter (14 November 2020). "New species of vine snakes discovered". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 26 November 2020.