Lycophidion hellmichi

Lycophidion hellmichi
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Lamprophiidae
Genus:	Lycophidion
Species:	L. hellmichi
Binomial name
Lycophidion hellmichi Laurent, 1964

Lycophidion hellmichi, known commonly as Hellmich's wolf snake or Kaokoveld wolf snake, is a species of oviparous, nonvenomous snake, in the family Lamprophiidae. ^[2] The species is native to southern Africa.

Geographic range

Lycophidion hellmichi is found in southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia, ^[1] though it is thought to have once had a larger geographic range that included the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ^{[2] [3]}

Habitat

Lycophidion hellmichi favors rocky areas of savanna and shrubland, ^[1] in the Namib Desert, ^[4] at altitudes of 300–700 m (980–2,300 ft). ^[1]

Description

Lycophidion hellmichi has the following scalation. The first labial scale should be in contact with the postnasal scale(s). It has more than 190 ventral scales; with more than forty subcaudals in males, and more than thirty in females. Only one male specimen was collected, 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Etengua, Namibia. It was found to be 402 mm (15.8 in) in total length, from snout to tip of tail. The largest female, the holotype found in Kapolopopo, Angola, was 471 mm (18.5 in) in total length. ^[5]

Discovery

Laurent described L. hellmichi from “Kapolopopo, desert de Mossamedes " in 1964, and included L. c. capense (Hellmich 1957, Entre Rios) in the synonymy, which was the first record of the species in Angola. Laurent assigned a number of Namibian specimens to L. hellmichi in 1968, which Broadley later realized were a new species, L. namibianum . The only remaining Namibian specimen of L. hellmichi is from the Kaokoveld, and Broadley recorded another Angolan specimen from Quissange. It therefore appears to be known from only three specimens. ^[6]

Diet, behavior and longevity

Lycophidion hellmichi likely preys upon geckos, skinks, and other small lizards, which it kills by constriction. Its lifespan is likely between fifteen and twenty years. ^[4]

Etymology

Hellmich's wolf snake was named after Walter Hellmich (1906-1974), a prominent German zoologist. ^{[2] [7]}

References

1. Ceríaco, L.M.P.; Baptista, N.; Conradie, W. (2020). "Lycophidion hellmichi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T176852A120631731. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T176852A120631731.en .
2. "Lycophidion hellmichi ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
3. "Kaokoveld Wolf Snake (Lycophidion hellmichi)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
4. "Lycophidion hellmichi (Hellmich's wolf snake)". www.biodiversityexplorer.info. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
5. Broadley, Donald G.; Hughes, Barry (1993). "A Review of the Genus Lycophidion (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Northeastern Africa". Herpetological Journal. 3: 8–18.
6. Branch, Bill (2018). "Amphibian & Reptile Conservation: Biobanking Amphibians - Snakes of Angola: An Annotated Checklist" (PDF). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. 12 (2): 41–82 – via Amphibian & Reptile Conservation.org.
7. 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. (Lycophidion hellmichi, p. 120).

Further reading

• Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN   0-88359-042-5. (Lycophidion hellmichi, p. 77).
• Broadley, D.G. (1996). "A revision of the genus Lycophidion Fitzinger (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Africa south of the equator". Syntarsus3: 1–33.
• Laurent, R.F. (1964). "Reptiles et batraciens de l'Angola (troisième note)". Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang), Serviços Culturais, Museu do Dundo (Angola) (67): 1–165. (Lycophidion hellmichi, new species). (in French).
• Schleicher, Alfred (2020). Reptiles of Namibia. Windhoek, Namibia: Kuiseb Publishers. 271 pp. ISBN   978-9994576708.