Lycodon cavernicolus

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Lycodon cavernicolus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Tetrapodomorpha
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Lycodon
Species:L. cavernicolus
Binomial name
Lycodon cavernicolus
Grismer, Quah, Anuar, Muin, Wood, & Nor 2014. [1]

Lycodon cavernicolus, also known as Gua Wang Burma wolf snake, [1] is a species of colubrid [1] snake found in peninsular Malaysia. [2] It was first described in 2014. [2]

Malaysia Federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of federal government. With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the world's 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, with large numbers of endemic species.

Contents

Etymology

The species name cavernicolus is derived from the Latin words caverna, which means "cave" and cola which means "dweller", and means that L. cavernicolus lives in caves. [2] However, strictly speaking the ending "-colus" is a correctable error, as in Latin -cola as a suffix is a masculine noun and is not declined in compound words. [3]

Latin Indo-European language of the Italic family

Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets and ultimately from the Phoenician alphabet.

Phylogeny

L. cavernicolus is a member of the genus Lycodon , a genus of snakes commonly known as wolf snakes. [4] The genus belongs to the snake family Colubridae, the largest snake family, with member species being found on every continent except Antarctica. [5]

<i>Lycodon</i> genus of reptiles

Lycodon is a genus of colubrid snakes, commonly known as wolf snakes. The New Latin name Lycodon is derived from the Greek words λύκος (lykos) meaning wolf and οδόν (odon) meaning tooth, and refers to the fang-like anterior maxillary and mandibular teeth.

Colubridae Family of snakes

Colubridae is a family of snakes. With 524 genera and approximately 1,760 species, it is the largest snake family, and includes just over 51% of all known living snake species. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica.

Description

L. cavernicolus has a flat head that is distinct from its neck, with an elongated snout. The nostrils are in the middle of the nasal scale, and large. The eyes are also large, with a vertical, elliptical pupil. [2] The body is somewhat compressed from side to side. A holotype had a total length of 50.8 centimeters. [2] The body is light brown, with bands of a lighter share. 36 bands are on the back and 29 on the tail. The head is the color of the lighter bands. The belly of the snake is beige. Juveniles have bold white markings on a darker brown background. [2]

Holotype single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described

A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept.

L. cavernicolus can be differentiated from closely related snakes such as Lycodon ruhstrati and Lycodon fasciatus by the presence of an elongated loreal scale, and either 245 ventral scales in the male or 232 in the female. Juveniles of the species have white bands. [2]

Lycodon rustrati, also known as Ruhstrat's wolf snake, the mountain wolf snake, or the Formosa wolf snake, is a species of non-venomous colubrid snake found in Taiwan, southern and eastern China, and northern Vietnam.

<i>Lycodon fasciatus</i> species of reptile

Lycodon fasciatus, commonly known as the banded wolf snake, is a species of colubrid snake.

Habitat & ecology

The holotype for L. cavernicolus was found deep inside a limestone cave. The snake is oviparous, or egg-laying. It is thought to eat geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus. [2]

<i>Cyrtodactylus</i> genus of reptiles

Cyrtodactylus is a diverse genus of Asian geckos, commonly known as bent-toed geckos or bow-fingered geckos. It has at least 250 described species at present, which makes it the largest of all gecko genera.

Distribution

The holotype for the species, as well as another specimen, were collected in a cave in Perlis State Park, Perlis, Malaysia. [2]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Hallerman, Jakob; Uetz, Peter. "Lycodon cavernicolus". The Reptile Database . Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Grismer, L. Lee; Quah, Evan S. H.; Anuar M. S., Shahrul; Muin, Mohammed Abdul; Wood (Jr.), Perry L.; Nor, Siti Azizah Mohammed (2014). "A diminutive new species of cave-dwelling Wolf Snake (Colubridae: Lycodon Boie, 1826) from Peninsular Malaysia". Zootaxa. 3815 (1): 051–067. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3815.1.3 . Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Zoologische Mededeelingen, Volume 80 (2006), p. 150
  4. ↑ "Wolf snake". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Bauer, Aaron M. (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G., eds. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 188–195. ISBN   0-12-178560-2.
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