Bluebelly Java snake

Bluebelly Java snake
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Tetralepis Boettger, 1892
Species:	T. fruhstorferi
Binomial name
Tetralepis fruhstorferi Boettger, 1892

The bluebelly Java snake (Tetralepis fruhstorferi), also known commonly as Fruhstorfer's mountain snake and the Javan bluebelly snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species, which is the only member of the genus Tetralepis, ^[2] is endemic to Java. ^{[1] [3]}

Etymology

The specific name, fruhstorferi, is in honor of German lepidopterist Hans Fruhstorfer, who collected the holotype. ^[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. fruhstorferi is forest, at altitudes of about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). ^[1]

Description

Dorsally, T. fruhstorferi is dark reddish brown, with an indistinct darker vertebral line. Ventrally, it is lead-colored or reddish gray. The holotype has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 43.2 cm (17.0 in), plus a tail length of 7.0 cm (2.8 in). ^[5]

Behavior

T. fruhstorferi is terrestrial, semi-fossorial, and nocturnal or crepuscular. ^[1]

Reproduction

The mode of reproduction of T. fruhstorferi is unknown. ^[3]

References

1. Iskandar, D.; Inger, R.F.; Das, I. (2012). "Tetralepis fruhstorferi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2012 e.T192222A2057749. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T192222A2057749.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Tetralepis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 December 2016.
3. Tetralepis fruhstorferi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 December 2016.
4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Tetralepis fruhstorferi, p. 95).
5. Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Tetralepis fruhstorferi, p. 320).

Further reading

• Boettger O (1892). "Listen von Kriechtieren und Lurche aus dem tropischen Asien u[nd]. aus Papuasien ". Bericht über die Thätigkeit des Offenbacher Vereins für Naturkunde1892: 65–164. (Tetralepis fruhstorferi, new species, pp. 125–126). (in German).
• de Lang R (2017). The Snakes of Java, Bali and Surrounding Islands. Frankfurt am Main: Chimaira. 435 pp. ISBN   978-3899735253.
• Inger RF, Vorhis HK (2001). "The biogeographical relations of the frogs and snakes of Sundaland". Journal of Biogeography28: 863–891. ("Tretralepis [sic] fruhstorferi ", typographical error).
• Manthey U, Grossmann W (1997). Amphibien & Reptilien Südostasiens. Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. 512 pp. ISBN   978-3931587123. (Tetralepis fruhstorferi, p. 395). (in German).