Red-tailed roller snake
| Red-tailed roller snake | ||||||||||||
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Red-tailed roller snake ( Cylindrophis ruffus ) |
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| Cylindrophis ruffus | ||||||||||||
| ( Laurenti , 1768) |
The red-tailed roller snake ( Cylindrophis ruffus , syn .: Anguis ruffa ), also known as the red roller snake , is a non-poisonous species of the roller snake family (Cylindrophiidae).
Distribution area
The distribution area of the red-tailed roller snake extends from Myanmar to Thailand , the Malay Peninsula to the Indonesian islands of Borneo , Sumatra , Bangka , Java , Sulawesi , Buton , the Sula Islands and Komodo . It is also found in Laos , Cambodia , Vietnam , southern China ( Hong Kong , Fujian and Hainan ).
features
The red-tailed roller snake can reach a total length of 90 cm and has a rotating body that has almost the same diameter over its entire length. The back and sides of the body are metallic iridescent dark brown to black brown. Beige to whitish transverse bands pattern the body at irregular intervals. They don't completely enclose it. The ventral side is colored alternately whitish and black-brown. The tail is short and flattened dorsoventrally, the tail end is red. It ends in a large, flat end scale. The smooth scales on the back are arranged in 19 or 21 rows. The number of abdominal scales , which are only slightly enlarged, is 185 to 222, the number of undivided subcaudalia is 5 to 10. The anal scale is divided. There is no pre- ocular in front of the small eyes; behind the eyes there is a single post- ocular . The number of upper lip shields (supralabials) is six, with the third and fourth touching the eye. The number of lower lip shields (infralabialia) is six.
Way of life
The red-tailed roller snake lives mainly in the lowlands in rice fields and swamps, but has also been found at altitudes of up to 1700 meters. It is crepuscular and nocturnal and feeds on insects, insect larvae, worms, blind snakes and probably also on frogs and tadpoles. If it is threatened, it flattens its body and lifts its tail, whose dark red, striped underside becomes visible. At the same time, she hides her head protectively under fallen leaves, branches or the like. It does not bite when grasped. The red-tailed roller snake is viviparous and has five to ten cubs per litter, around 20 cm long at birth.
literature
- Ulrich Manthey, Wolfgang Grossmann: Amphibians & Reptiles of Southeast Asia. Natur und Tier Verlag (1997), ISBN 978-3931587123 , pages 413-414.
Web links
- Cylindrophis ruffus in The Reptile Database
- IUCN Red List: Cylindrophis ruffus , accessed November 1, 2016.