Bigeye mountain snake
| Bigeye mountain snake | ||||||||||||
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Bigeye mountain snake ( Pseudoxenodon macrops ) |
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| Pseudoxenodon macrops | ||||||||||||
| ( Blyth , 1855) |
The bigeye mountain water snake ( Pseudoxenodon macrops ), and bigeye water snake is a non-toxic snake in the subfamily pseudoxenodontinae in the family of snakes (Colubrinae). The snake was described in 1855 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth under the name Tropidonotus macrops . "Near" Darjeeling in northeastern India was given as terra typica .
Distribution area
The distribution area of the bigeye mountain water snake extends from Nepal and Bhutan via northeast India to Vietnam and Borneo and to southern and central China ( Fujian , Guangdong , Guangxi , Guizhou , Sichuan and Yunnan ).
features
The bigeye mountain water snake can reach a total length of 130 cm. The scales on the back are arranged in 17 or 19 rows. The scales of the top and middle rows are keeled, the scales of the bottom rows are not. The number of abdominal scales is 151 to 180, the number of divided subcaudalia is 55 to 80. The anal scale is divided. In front of the eye there is a pre- ocular , behind it three post-ocularia. The number of upper lip shields (supralabials) is eight, with the fourth and fifth of the upper lip shields touching the eye. The number of lower lip shields (infralabialia) is nine to ten.
In terms of color, it is quite variable and can be brownish, gray, black-gray, reddish or olive-colored. The belly is whitish to yellowish white, some front abdominal scales completely or partially black. The top can be patterned by reddish, yellowish or dirty white crossbars or rounded spots. There is a V-shaped black or white marking in the neck, which can also be missing. In general, the patterns in the back of the body become stronger.
Way of life
The bigeye mountain water snake usually lives in mountain forests, mostly at heights of 1200 to 2000 meters, but also lower in cool regions. It is diurnal and feeds mainly on frogs. When threatened, it imitates the poisonous cobras and lifts the front body while the neck area is flattened and broadened. If the enemy does not withdraw, the bigeye mountain water snake bites or flees. The snake is oviparous . A clutch contains around ten eggs.
literature
- Ulrich Manthey, Wolfgang Grossmann: Amphibians & Reptiles of Southeast Asia. Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster 1997, ISBN 978-3931587123 , pp. 383-384.
Web links
- Pseudoxenodon macrops in The Reptile Database
- IUCN Red List: Pseudoxenodon macrops (accessed November 2, 2016)