Langaha madagascariensis | |
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Female L. madagascariensis | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Pseudoxyrhophiidae |
Genus: | Langaha |
Species: | L. madagascariensis |
Binomial name | |
Langaha madagascariensis Bonnaterre, 1790 | |
Synonyms | |
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Langaha madagascariensis (formerly Langaha nasuta, commonly known as the Madagascar or Malagasy leaf-nosed snake) is a medium-sized non-venomous highly cryptic arboreal species. It is endemic to Madagascar and found in deciduous dry forests and rain forests, often in vegetation 1.5 to 2 meters above the ground. [1] [3]
Malagasy leaf-nosed snakes can grow up to 1 meter in length. [3] There is considerable sexual dimorphism within the species; the males are dorsally brown and ventrally yellow with a long tapering snout, while the females are mottled grey with a flattened, leaf shaped snout. [4] The function of their appendage is unknown, but obviously also serves as camouflage. [3] They have unusually slender bodies and can be identified by their long, pointy snouts. Their diet is mainly made up of frogs and lizards. These snakes are known for their unusually high levels of sexual dimorphism, (Tingle, 2012)
It is largely a sit-and-wait predator. It may show curious resting behaviour, hanging straight down from a branch. Prey items include arboreal and terrestrial lizards. [5] It also exhibits hooding while stalking prey. These hooding and swaying behaviours along with its cryptic colour patterns, might allow L. madagascariensis to mimic a vine swaying in the wind. [6]
Leaf-nosed snakes are oviparous with clutch sizes ranging from 5 to 11 eggs. [3] Malagasy leaf-nosed snakes are generally calm and reluctant to bite unless provoked.
Uroplatus is a genus of geckos, commonly referred to as leaf-tail geckos or flat-tailed geckos, which are endemic to Madagascar and its coastal islands, such as Nosy Be. They are nocturnal, insectivorous lizards found exclusively in primary and secondary forest.
Tracheloptychus is a small genus of lizards in the family Gerrhosauridae. The genus is endemic to Madagascar.
Hognose snake is a common name for several unrelated species of snakes with upturned snouts, classified in two colubrid snake families and one pseudoxyrhophiid snake family.
Chalarodon madagascariensis is a species of Malagasy terrestrial iguanian lizard native to western, southern, and south eastern Madagascar. Until 2015, it was thought to be the only member of its genus, but a second species, C. steinkampi was recognised in 2015. It is not yet clear if the distributional range of these two species overlaps.
Mantella are a prominent genus of aposematic frogs in the family Mantellidae, endemic to the island of Madagascar. Members of Mantella are diurnal and terrestrial, with bright aposematic coloration or cryptic markings.
Leioheterodon is a genus of harmless pseudoxyrhophiid snakes found only on the island of Madagascar. Three species are currently recognized. Common names include Malagasy hognose snakes, Malagasy brown snakes and Malagasy menarana snakes.
Sanzinia madagascariensis, also known as the Madagascar tree boa or Malagasy tree boa, is a boa species endemic to the island of Madagascar. It was once considered conspecific with the Nosy Komba ground boa. Like all other boas, it is non-venomous.
Acrantophis dumerili, commonly known as Dumeril's boa, is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Boidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Acrantophis madagascariensis is a species of boid snake in the subfamily Sanziniinae that is endemic to the island of Madagascar. Its common names include the Madagascar ground boa and Malagasy ground boa.
Mantella madagascariensis, common names Malagasy painted mantella, Madagascan mantella, Madagascar golden frog, Malagasy mantella and painted mantella, is a species of frog in the family Mantellidae.
Uroplatus sikorae, commonly referred to as the mossy leaf-tailed gecko or the southern flat-tail gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. It is a CITES II protected animal due to habitat loss.
Leioheterodon madagascariensis, the Malagasy, Madagascar or Madagascangiant hognose(snake), is a harmless species of pseudoxyrhophiid snake endemic to the island nation of Madagascar. The species is also found on the country's smaller islands of Nosy Be, Nosy Mangabe, and Nosy Sakatia, as well as on the Comoros archipelago, in the Mozambique Channel. It is thought, by some, to have been introduced to the Grande Comoro. Mature giant hognose snakes can measure between 130 and 180 cm (4 ft. to nearly 6 ft., or between 1-2 meters) in length, and be roughly the thickness of an average adult human's arm.
Langaha is a small genus of elapoid snakes in the family Pseudoxyrhophiidae. The genus contains three species, all of which are endemic to Madagascar.They are non-venomous.
Calumma nasutum, the Madagascar pimple-nose chameleon, is a small species of chameleon found in Madagascar. The taxonomic identity of the species is currently uncertain and in need of revision, and this revision is likely to result in several newly described species. Several different data sets indicate that C. nasutum is a complex of several species.
Calumma crypticum, commonly known as the cryptic chameleon or blue-legged chameleon, is a species of chameleon found in eastern Madagascar.
The Sanziniinae are a subfamily of boid snakes containing four species endemic to the island of Madagascar. Common names include Madagascar boas and Malagasy boas.
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 Malagasy dwarf gecko, also known commonly as Klemmer's dwarf gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae.
Thamnosophis stumpffi, commonly known as the yellow-striped water snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae of the family Pseudoxyrhophiidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.
Phelsuma borai is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.