Indian egg-eating snake

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Indian egg-eating snake
Indian egg eater snake Elachistodon westermanni by Krishna Khan Amravati.jpg
Indian egg-eater at Amravati
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Elachistodon
Reinhardt, 1863
Species:
E. westermanni
Binomial name
Elachistodon westermanni
Reinhardt, 1863
Elachistodon westermanni distribution.png
Synonyms [3]
  • Elachistodon westermanni
    Reinhardt, 1863
  • Boiga westermanni
    Mohan et al., 2018
  • Elachistodon westermanni
    Patel & Vyas, 2019

The Indian egg-eating snake or Indian egg-eater (Elachistodon westermanni) is a rare species of egg-eating snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is also called Westermann's snake, reflecting its scientific name. [1] The snake belongs to the monotypic genus Elachistodon. [3]

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, westermanni, is in honor of Dutch zoologist Geraldus Frederick Westermann (1807–1890). [4]

Geographic range

The Indian egg-eating snake is found in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. Recent discoveries of the species come from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Indian egg-eater.jpg

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of E. westermanni are forest and shrubland, at altitudes of 40–1,000 m (130–3,280 ft). [1]

Description

E. westermanni is glossy brown to black, with bluish white flecks posteriorly and a middorsal creamy stripe from neck to tail tip. The head is brown with a black arrow mark. The ventrals are white with brown dots. Adults may attain a total length of 78 cm (31 inches), with a tail 11 cm (4+14 inches) long. [10]

Behaviour

The Indian egg-eating snake is a diurnal [1] or nocturnal, terrestrial species that shows remarkable dexterity in scaling vegetation. When provoked, it raises the anterior portion of the body, forming S-shaped coils as a defensive strategy. [9]

Diet

E. westermanni exclusively feeds on bird eggs that lack embryonic growth. It has special adaptations such as vertebral hypapophyses, projections of the cervical vertebrae, that jut into the oesophagus, are enamel-capped, and help in cracking eggs. [10] The only other snakes that share these egg-eating adaptations are in the genus Dasypeltis found in Africa. [11]

Reproduction

E. westermanni is oviparous. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Vyas, R.; Thakur, S.; Mohapatra, P.; Giri, V. (2013). "Elachistodon westermanni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T7091A3136878. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T7091A3136878.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. 1 2 3 Boiga westermanni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 April 2017.
  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. (Elachistodon westermanni, p. 282).
  5. Mahesh Bilaskar, Santhanankrishnan Babu, Honnavali N. Kumara & Harif Parengal (2018). "First record of the Indian Egg-eater, Elachistodon westermanni REINHARDT, 1863, from Karnataka, India. https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/HER_31_1_2_0108-0110.pdf
  6. Captain A, Tillack F, Gumprecht A, Dandge P (2005). "First record of Elachistodon westermanni Reinhardt 1863 (Serpentes, Colubridae, Colubrinae) from Maharashtra State, India". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 12 (2): 156–158.
  7. Nande R, Deshmukh S (2007). "Snakes of Amravati district including Melghat, Maharashtra, with important records of the Indian egg-eater, montane trinket snake and Indian Smooth Snake" (PDF). Zoos' Print Journal. 22 (12): 2920–2924. doi:10.11609/jott.zpj.1653.2920-4 (inactive 2024-06-19). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-07-15.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of June 2024 (link)
  8. Sharma V (2014). "On the distribution of Elachistodon westermanni Reinhardt, 1863 (Serpentes, Colubridae)". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 21 (3): 161–165.
  9. 1 2 Visvanathan A (2015). "Natural history notes on Elachistodon westermanni Reinhardt, 1863". Hamadryad. 37 (1–2): 132–136.
  10. 1 2 Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Subfamily Elachistodontinæ, p. 263; Genus Elachistodon, p. 263; species E. westermanni, p. 264).
  11. Gans, Carl; Oshima, Masamitsu (1952). "Adaptations for egg eating in the snake Elaphe climacophora (Boie)". American Museum Novitates (1571): 1–16. hdl:2246/3997.

Further reading