Micrelaps vaillanti

Micrelaps vaillanti
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Micrelapidae
Genus:	Micrelaps
Species:	M. vaillanti
Binomial name
	Micrelaps vaillanti; (Mocquard, 1888)
Synonyms
	Elaposchema vaillanti; Mocquard, 1888; Calamelaps vaillanti; — Boettger, 1893; Micrelaps vaillanti; — Boulenger, 1896; Rhinocalamus meleagris; Sternfeld, 1908; Micrelaps nigriceps; Sternfeld, 1910; Micrelaps boettgeri; — Loveridge, 1955; Micrelaps vaillanti; — Rasmussen, 2002;

Last updated January 17, 2024

Micrelaps vaillanti, also known commonly as the black-headed micrelaps or the Somali two-headed snake, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Lamprophiidae.^[3] The species is endemic to Africa.^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, vaillanti, is in honor of French herpetologist Léon Vaillant.^[4]

Geographic range

M. vaillanti is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, eastern Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of M. vaillanti are shrubland and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft).^[1]

Description

M. vaillanti is brown dorsally, with the center of each dorsal scale grayish white. The ventrals are brown in the middle, and whitish on the sides.

Adults may attain a total length of 28.2 cm (11 in), with a tail 32 mm (1+1⁄4 in) long.

The dorsal scales are smooth, without pits, and are arranged in 15 rows at midbody (in 17 rows on the neck). The ventrals number 171–203. The anal plate is divided, and the subcaudals are also divided.

The head is very flattened. The rostral is large, twice as broad as deep, the portion visible from above about ⅔ as long as its distance from the frontal. The internasals are twice as broad as long, and twice as long as the prefrontals. The frontal is small, 1½ times as long as broad, as long as its distance from the end of the snout, much shorter than the parietals. The supraocular is as long as broad. There is one very small postocular. The temporals are arranged 1+1. There are seven upper labials, the third in contact with the prefrontal, the third and fourth (or third, fourth, and fifth) entering the eye. There are four lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shield. The two pairs of chin shields (anterior and posterior) are subequal in size.^[5]

Reproduction

M. vaillanti is oviparous.^[2]

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References

1 2 Safari I, Malonza P, Beraducci J, Spawls S (2019). "Micrelaps vaillanti ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T20878418A20878429. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T20878418A20878429.en. Downloaded on 16 September 2020.
1 2 3 4 Species Micrelaps vaillanti at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
↑ "Micrelaps". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 17 August 2007.
↑ 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. (Micrelaps vaillanti, p. 271).
↑ Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), Amblycephalidæ, and Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Micrelaps vaillanti, new combination, p. 249).