Xenocalamus mechowii

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Xenocalamus mechowii
Xenocalamus mechowii.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Atractaspididae
Genus: Xenocalamus
Species:
X. mechowii
Binomial name
Xenocalamus mechowii
W. Peters, 1881

Xenocalamus mechowii, or the elongate quill-snouted snake, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the subfamily Aparallactinae of the family Atractaspididae. [1] The species is endemic to Africa. [2] There are two recognized subspecies. [2]

Contents

Etymology

The specific name or epithet, mechowii, is in honor of Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander von Mechow, a Silesian-German explorer of Africa. [3]

Geographic range

Xenocalamus mechowii is found in Angola, Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. [2]

Habitat

The preferred habitat of Xenocalamus mechowii is Kalahari sand. [4]

Description

Dorsally, Xenocalamus mechowii is yellowish with brown spots, some spots arranged in alternating confluent pairs, others forming crossbands. The upper lip, sides of the body, and venter are unspotted. [5]

A subadult 22.5 cm (8+3⁄4 in) in total length has a tail 3.5 cm (1+3⁄8 in) long. [5]

The species exhibits sexual dimorphism. Adult males may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 58 cm (23 in). Females are larger, and may attain 80 cm (31 in) SVL. [4]

The dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 17 rows. The ventrals number 229–239. The anal plate is divided, and the subcaudals which number 31–36 are also divided. [5]

The head scalation is the same as Xenocalamus bicolor , except there are no supraoculars and two postoculars. [5]

The snout is very depressed and very prominent. [4]

Diet

Xenocalamus mechowii preys on amphisbaenians, which it finds by burrowing. [4]

Reproduction

Xenocalamus mechowii is oviparous. An adult female may lay a clutch of as many as four eggs. [4]

Subspecies

Two subspecies of Xenocalamus mechowii are recognized as being valid, including the nominate race. [2]

Intergrades of these two subspecies can be found in North-Western Province, Zambia. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "Xenocalamus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Xenocalamus mechowii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 12 May 2009.
  3. ↑ 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. (Xenocalamus mechowi, p. 174).
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN   0-88359-042-5. (Xenocalamus mechowii, p. 69).
  5. 1 2 3 4 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. ("Xenocalamus mechovii [sic]", p. 248).
  6. ↑ Broadley DG (1971). "A revision of the African snake genera Amblyodipsas and Xenocalamus ". Occasional papers of the National Museums of Rhodesia, Series B, Natural sciences4 (33): 629–697.

Further reading


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