Elaphe davidi

Elaphe davidi
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Elaphe
Species:	E. davidi
Binomial name
Elaphe davidi (Sauvage, 1884)
Synonyms [2]
Tropidonotus davidi Sauvage, 1884 Coluber davidi — Boulenger, 1894 Coluber halli Boulenger, 1914 Elaphe davidi — Mell, 1931

Elaphe davidi, also known commonly as Pere David's rat snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to East Asia.

Etymology

The specific name, davidi, is in honor of Armand David, who was a French zoologist and priest. ^[3]

Geographic range

E. davidi is found mainly in China, and its presence in North Korea is considered uncertain. ^[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of E. davidi are forest and grassland, at altitudes of 100–900 m (330–2,950 ft), but it has also been found in agricultural areas such as orchards. ^[1]

Diet

E. davidi preys upon frogs, lizards, and snakes. Captive specimens have also eaten mice. ^[1]

Reproduction

E. davidi is oviparous. ^[2] Eggs are laid in August, and clutch size is 7–8. ^[1]

References

1. Borzee, A. (2024). "Elaphe davidi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024 e.T191939A212882957.
2. Species Elaphe davidi at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
3. 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. (Elaphe davidi, p. 203).

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Coluber davidi, p. 56).
• Pope CH (1935). The Reptiles of China: Turtles, Crocodilians, Snakes, Lizards. (Volume X of the Natural History of Central Asia series, edited by Chester A. Reeds). New York: American Museum of Natural History. lii + 604 pp., 28 figures, Plates I–XXVII. (Elaphe davidi, pp. 238–240, Figure 52).
• Sauvage H-E (1884). "Sur quelques Reptiles de la collection du Muséum d'histoire naturelle". Bulletin de la Société Philomathique de Paris, Septième Série [Seventh Series] 18 : 142–147. (Tropidonotus davidi, new species, p. 144). (in French).
• Szyndlar, Zbigniew (1985). "Occurrence of Elaphe davidi (Sauvage, 1884) (Serpentes: Colubridae) in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". The Snake17 (2): 163–167.