| Malayan green whipsnake | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Ahaetuliinae |
| Genus: | Ahaetulla |
| Species: | A. mycterizans |
| Binomial name | |
| Ahaetulla mycterizans | |
| Synonyms | |
Coluber mycterizans Linnaeus, 1758 Contents | |
Ahaetulla mycterizans, the Malayan green whipsnake [3] or Malayan vine snake, [1] is a slender arboreal colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.
The species name mycterizans comes from the Greek "mucterizo", meaning "I turn up the nose," in reference to the shape of the snout of the snake. [3]
It belongs to the genus Ahaetulla , one of five genera within the subfamily Ahaetuliinae. The relationships of Ahaetulla mycterizans to some other Ahaetulla species, and to the other genera within Ahaetuliinae, can be shown in the cladogram below, with possible paraphyletic species noted: [4]
| Ahaetuliinae |
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It is found in Western Peninsular Malaysia, Java and Sumatra of Indonesia, [5] Singapore, Borneo, Thailand and possibly Laos up to elevation of 350 m. [3]
The Malayan green whipsnake is diurnal and mildly venomous. Occurs in primary and mature secondary forests near streams. The diet, like other whip snakes, consists primarily of frogs and lizards. These slow moving snakes often appear like vines amongst foliage and are hard to detect. The anterior part of the body can expand when threatened exposing the dark scales. It is often confused with the oriental whipsnake ( Ahaetulla prasina ) but the former does not occur in disturbed areas or parks or gardens, especially in its distributional range of Singapore. The Malayan whipsnake can be distinguished from the oriental whipsnake by the former having larger eyes and the flanks lacking a thin yellow line. The former is also smaller (up to 1 m snout to vent length) as compared to the oriental whipsnake which can grow up to 2 m. [6]
Very little is known about the ecology and natural history of this species. [7]
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.
Ahaetulla fronticincta, commonly known as Günther's whipsnake, the Burmese vine snake or the river vine snake, is a species of fish-eating vine snake found in Southeast Asia.
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.
Brown-speckled whipsnake or brown vine snake is a species of colubrid vine snake endemic to Sri Lanka.
Dendrelaphis pictus, commonly known as either the common bronzeback, painted bronzeback, or Indonesian bronzeback, is a species of colubrid snake found in Southeast Asia.
Dendrelaphis caudolineatus, commonly known as the striped bronzeback or grey bronzeback, is a species of colubrid snake found in Southeast Asia.
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.
The twin-barred tree snake is a species of colubrid snake found in Southeast Asia. It is also called the banded flying snake. It can glide, as with all species of its genus Chrysopelea, by stretching the body into a flattened strip using its ribs. It is fully arboreal, mostly found in moist forests, and can cover a horizontal distance of about 100 metres in a glide from the top of a tree. It is an oviparous snake.
Dryophiops philippina, also known as the keel-bellied whipsnake or Philippine whipsnake, a species of rear-fanged colubrid snake that is endemic to the Philippines. One similar species, Dryophiops rubescens exists in Thailand and Malaysia.
Dolichophis jugularis, also known commonly as the black whipsnake and the large whip snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to West Asia. There are three subspecies.
The speckle-headed whipsnake is a species of colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.
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.
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.
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.
Dendrelaphis formosus, commonly known as either the elegant bronzeback or beautiful bronzeback tree snake, is a snake species in the family Colubridae from Southeast Asia.
Dryophiops rubescens, commonly known as the red whip snake, is a species of snake in the colubrid family from Southeast Asia.
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.
Dendrelaphis haasi, also known commonly as Haas' bronzeback, Haas's bronzeback, Haas's bronzeback snake, and Haas's bronzeback tree snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Southeast Asia.
Dendrelaphis striatus, commonly known as the banded bronzeback or striated bronzeback treesnake, is a species of snake of the family Colubridae found in Southeast Asia.
Dendrelaphis subocularis, commonly known as the mountain bronzeback or Burmese bronzeback, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae from Southeast Asia.
