Hemerophis socotrae
| Hemerophis socotrae | ||||||||||||
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Hemerophis socotrae - illustration of the first description by Günther |
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| Hemerophis | ||||||||||||
| Schätti & Utiger , 2001 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Hemerophis socotrae | ||||||||||||
| ( Günther , 1881) |
Hemerophis socotrae ( Syn. : Zamenis socotrae , Coluber socotrae , Haemorrhois socotrae , Eremiophis socotrae ) is a non-toxic snake of the family of snakes , more specifically the subfamily of the land and tree snakes . It is endemic to the island of Socotra . The genus Hemerophis is monotypical .
The name of the genus, Hemerophis , refers to the snake's calm mind: "Hemeros" means mild, comfortable; "Ophis" means snake. The type epithet refers to Socotra.
features
Male Hemerophis socotrae can be 148 centimeters long with a tail length of 37 centimeters. Females are significantly smaller with 100 centimeters and a tail length of 25 centimeters.
The top of the head is colored olive, dark brown or black. The rest of the body is light red to salmon-colored with dark brown or olive spots that are perpendicular to the body and outlined in black. The density of the spots increases in the direction of the tail until the rear part is monochrome dark. The upper jaw has 17-20 teeth, the rear ones being elongated.
The scales are not keeled. At the neck and at the level of the middle of the body, Hemerophis socotrae has 23 rows of back scales , at the level of the last of the 217–237 ventral scales there are 17, rarely 15, rows of back scales. Hemerophis socotrae has a split anal scale and then between 112 and 125 tail scales ( scutum caudale ). The nasal scale ( scutum nasale ) is divided. The scales around the eye are also characteristic: there are usually two small pre-oculars in front of the eye; Behind the eye are two post-eyepieces and a mostly larger post-subocular directly underneath. The arrangement of the temporals is very variable. Of the 9–11 upper lip shields , only one, usually the fifth, borders directly on the eye. The number of lower lip shields is between ten and twelve.
Compared to the closely related snakes of the genera Hierophis and Dolichophis , Hemerophis socotrae has a larger number of rows of dorsal scales and upper lip shields, of which only one instead of two is directly adjacent to the eye. Hierophis and Dolichophis also have only one instead of two preoculars. Neither Hierophis , Dolichophis nor Platyceps have a postsubocular, and they have fewer teeth.
Way of life
Hemerophis socotrae , like all wrath snakes, is very agile and fast. However, she is very shy and flees when disturbed. Usually the snake hunts in the morning and in the evening. Nocturnal hunts could only be observed in captivity. In addition to lizards and mice, it also preyed on fish.
Like all wrath snakes, Hemerophis socotrae lays eggs ( oviparous ).
distribution
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The species occurs only on Socotra, Samhah and Darsa . There she lives from sea level to 900 m above sea level. NN on rocky or sandy ground and prefers the proximity of the coast as well as river valleys and streams. Most of the sites are in the lowlands.
Systematics
Until genetic analyzes had shown otherwise , Hemerophis socotrae was placed in the genus Zamenis when it was first described and later, like many other snakes that specialize in the hunt for nimble prey such as lizards, by Schätti and Wilson in 1986 in the genus of angry snakes ( Coluber ) posed. After it had been shown that the species of the genus Coluber did not have a common ancestral form, the species of the ancient world were moved to the genera Dolichophis , Hemerophis , Hemorrhois , Hierophis and Platyceps , among others . Since Hemerophis socotrae differs from the other species in a number of properties, it has been separated into its own genus.
The exact relationships are not yet fully established, but it turns out that Hemerophis socotrae is basal to the rest of the angry snakes of the ancient world:
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Hazard and protection
In the Red List of the IUCN out on the early warning list as "Near Threatened". Although harmless, the snake is often killed by humans. The expansion of the road network on Socotra can also lead to a hazard.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Beat Schätti, Urs Utiger: Hemerophis, a new genus for Zamenis socotrae Günther, and a contribution to the phylogeny of Old World racers, whip snakes, and related genera (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubrinae) . In: Revue Suisse de Zoologie . tape 108 , 2001, ISSN 0035-418X , p. 919-948 .
- ↑ Herbert Roesler, Wolfgang Wranik: The reptiles of the Socotra archipelago with special remarks on the slender blind snakes (Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) . In: M. Vences, J. Köhler, T. Ziegler, W. Böhme (Eds.): Herpetologia Bonnensis II. - Proceedings of the 13th Congress of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica . 2006, p. 125-128 .
- ↑ a b Z. T. Nagy, R. Lawson, U. Joger, M. Wink: Molecular systematics of racers, whipsnakes and relatives (Reptilia: Colubridae) using mitochondrial and nuclear markers . In: Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research . tape 42 , no. 3 . Blackwell Verlag, 2004, ISSN 0947-5745 , p. 223–233 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1439-0469.2004.00249.x ( uni-heidelberg.de PDF, 0.2 MB). uni-heidelberg.de ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hemerophis socotrae in The Reptile Database
- ↑ Hemerophis socotrae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2012. Posted by: Grieco, C., Riservato, E. & Sindaco, R., 2011.
