Plagiopholis nuchalis

Assam mountain snake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Plagiopholis
Species:	P. nuchalis
Binomial name
Plagiopholis nuchalis (Boulenger, 1893)
Synonyms [2]
Trirhinopholis nuchalis Boulenger, 1893 Oligodon evansi Wall, 1913 (fide M.A. Smith, 1943) Trirhinopholis nuchalis — Wall, 1921 (fide M.A. Smith, 1943) Plagiopholis nuchalis — M.A. Smith, 1940 Plagiopholis nuchalis — M.A. Smith, 1943

Plagiopholis nuchalis, commonly known as the Assam mountain snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. ^{[3] [4]} The species is endemic to Asia.

Geographic range

P. nuchalis is found in China (Yunnan), Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. It may possibly also be found in India (Assam) and Vietnam. ^[2]

Description

A small snake, P. nuchalis may attain a total length of 45 cm (18 in), which includes a tail 5.5 cm (2.2 in) long. Dorsally it is blackish brown, with many of the dorsal scales edged with black. On the neck there is a broad black chevron, pointing forward, to which the specific name, nuchalis, refers. Ventrally it is yellowish, marked with black. ^[5]

Reproduction

P. nuchalis is oviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Wogan, G.; Chan-Ard, T.; Richman, N.; Bohm, M. (2012). "Plagiopholis nuchalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2012 e.T177441A1486583. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T177441A1486583.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. "Plagiopholis nuchalis ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
3. "Plagiopholis nuchalis ". uBIO. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
4. "Plagiopholis nuchalis " . Retrieved 29 April 2014.
5. Smith MA (1943).

External links

• Flickr photo by Michael Cota
• Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I. Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. Boulenger GA (1893). London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Trirhinopholis nuchalis, new species, pp. 419–420 + Plate XXVIII, figures 1, [1a, 1b]).

Further reading

• Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Plagiopholis nuchalis, pp. 326–327).
• Tillack, Frank; Scheidt, Ulrich; Ihle, Thomas (2006). "First record of Blakeway's mountain snake, Plagiopholis blakewayi Boulenger, 1893 from Thailand, with remarks on the distribution of Plagiopholis nuchalis Boulenger 1893 (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae: Pseudoxenodontidae)". Veröffentlichungen des Naturkundemuseums Erfurt25: 181–186.