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Hardwicke's rat snake | |
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Platyceps ventromaculatus, juvenile | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Platyceps |
Species: | P. ventromaculatus |
Binomial name | |
Platyceps ventromaculatus (Gray, 1834) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Hardwicke's rat snake (Platyceps ventromaculatus), also known commonly as the glossy-bellied racer, Gray's rat snake, and the spotted bellied snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Asia. There are three recognized subspecies.
P. ventromaculatus is found in southwestern Asia from northern India to southern Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan (Leviton 1959: 461), Uzbekistan, Iraq, Iran, Jordan (Disi 1993), Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia (along the Arabian Sea) to Israel.[ citation needed ]
It has been recorded in South Asia from Chitral in the north to Almora in Kumaon, Uttarakhand state, south to the Khandesh area in Maharashtra.[ citation needed ]
P. ventromaculatus is not uncommon.[ citation needed ]
P. ventromaculatus is a graceful snake with a smooth, round, elongate, gradually tapering body, and a tail more than one-fourth the total length. It has a moderately narrow head. It varies in colour and can be grey, olive-brown, olive-green, or dirty yellow. It has a series of black rhomboidal cross-bars running down the middle of the back. The scales forming the cross-bars normally have colour on the edges only. The sides of the body have similar smaller spots alternating with interspaces which may be broader or narrower than them. The belly is yellow to white with glossy scales.[ citation needed ]
The head is of the body-colour with or without symmetrical darkish markings. These may consist of:
Adults are usually 90 to 120 cm (35 to 47 in) in total length (including tail), and have been recorded to grow up to 1.28 m (4.2 ft).[ citation needed ]
The following three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. [2]
Nota bene : A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Platyceps .
P. ventromaculatus inhabits mainly stony hillsides, open or cultivated land, and sometimes congested urban areas. It has been recorded in Pokaran district in the Thar Desert also.[ citation needed ]
P. ventromaculatus is a fast active snake, which gives rise to one of its common names, glossy-bellied racer. It is normally seen in open country. When alarmed, it quickly retreats into cover. It hibernates in winter. It has been known to live as long as five years.[ citation needed ]
P. ventromaculatus largely preys upon lizards.[ citation needed ]
P. ventromaculatus is oviparous. [2] Gravid females have been obtained in early summer. About 9 eggs are laid. They hatch around September. The young snakes are 30–33 centimetres (12–13 in) long.[ citation needed ]
Pantherophis obsoletus, also known commonly as the western rat snake, black rat snake, pilot black snake, or simply black snake, is a nonvenomous species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to central North America. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. Its color variations include the Texas rat snake. Along with other snakes of the eastern United States, like the eastern indigo snake and the eastern racer, it is called “black snake”.
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Platyceps is a genus of snakes of the family Colubridae endemic to Eurasia.
Platyceps karelini, the spotted desert racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Asia.
The Transcaucasian ratsnake, also commonly known as the Gavand snake, is a species of nonvenomous ratsnake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Western Asia and the Middle East.
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Bamanophis is a genus of snake in the family Colubridae. The genus contains the sole species Bamanophis dorri, which is native to West Africa.