Sakishima-habu

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Sakishima-habu
Protobothrops elegans on Kohama-jima

Protobothrops elegans on Kohama-jima

Systematics
Subordination : Snakes (serpentes)
Family : Vipers (Viperidae)
Subfamily : Pit vipers (Crotalinae)
Genus : Protobothrops
Type : Sakishima-habu
Scientific name
Protobothrops elegans
( Gray , 1849)

The Sakishima-Habu ( Protobothrops elegans , Japanese 先 島 波布 （サ キ シ マ ハ ブ） Sakishima-Habu ) is a viper species of the genus Protobothrops , which is widespread on the  southern Ryūkyū Islands belonging to Japan . The species status is considered phylogenetically secured. The Sakishima habu are adaptable and their population is classified as stable and not at risk, including one introduced to Okinawa. There is only one known case in which a person was killed by the bite of a Sakishima habu.

Characteristics and way of life

The scales are ocher-colored with a dark pattern in the form of a zigzag band of diamond-shaped spots. A dark band runs on the head from the eyes to the corners of the mouth. The scale shape and pattern of the head is similar to that of the Habuschnake ( Protobothrops flavoviridis ). The Sakishima Habu, however, has two rows of scales between the infraoculars and the supralabials . The scales are keeled behind the supraocularia . On the top of the body, the scales are arranged in 23 to 24 rows. The Sakishima Habu has 63–90 subcaudalia and 7–9 supralabialia (shields of the upper lip). In the males there are 179–192 and in the females 182–196 ventralia (abdominal scales). The Sakishima Habu is slightly smaller than the Habuschnake with a total length of 60 to 120 centimeters.

The Sakishima Habu rarely climbs trees. It is mainly nocturnal. Their prey includes small mammals , reptiles and amphibians such as the species Fejervarya sakishimensis . The small prey are paralyzed about a minute after being bitten. The females lay around 5 to 13 eggs in summer.

Snakebites

Snakebites per year in Okinawa Prefecture

As a viper, the Sakishima Habu is a poisonous species of snake. Since 1964, statistics on snake bites have been kept in Okinawa Prefecture that cover the entire range of the species. Between 1965 and 2019, 2618 snakebites of the Sakishima-Habu were recorded, of which most snakebites were recorded in Ishigaki , followed by Taketomi and Okinawa Hontō . In contrast , between 1964 and 2019, a total of 9,176 residents were bitten by the closely related Habo snake and 418 were bitten by the Okinawa Habo snake . Overall, the number of snake bites has decreased significantly since the 1960s.

The Sakishima Habu is less venomous than the Habo snake and often no venom is injected when it bites. Since 1965, only one bite was fatal in 1979. In comparison, 53 people died from Habuschnake bites, but the last case here dates back to 1999. A total of 34 snake bites and no deaths were recorded for other snake species. Most people were bitten while working in the fields or on their property.

Sakishima-Habu (earth)
reference = [[Okinawa Hontō]]
Okinawa Hontō
reference = [[Yaeyama Islands]]
Yaeyama Islands
reference = [[Miyako-jima]]
Miyako-jima
Distribution area of ​​the Sakishima Habu
Green: Natural distribution area
Red: Introduced population
Blue: Single specimen found
Habitat example on Ishigaki Island

Distribution area and endangerment

The Sakishima Habu is common on some of the Japanese Ryūkyū Islands. She's on the Yaeyama Islands ( Ishigaki , Iriomote , Sotobanari , Uchibanari , Kohama , Taketomi , Kuroshima , Kayama ) endemic with the exception of the more remote islands Yonaguni and Hateruma . It was also introduced in some parts of Okinawa Hontō. There is also an isolated case from 2013 in which a specimen was found on Miyako-jima . It was a 44 cm tall, about 1.5 year old male. The habitat of the Sakishima Habu includes forests and meadows. The vipers can also be found near watercourses, rice fields and villages. They are most often found on mountain roads at night.

There is no information on the population size of the Sakishima Habu, but it is a common species in its range that can adapt to different habitats, including those inhabited by humans. In addition, no particular threats are known. The IUCN therefore classifies the Sakishima-Habu as not endangered ("Least Concern").

Systematics

Head of a Sakishima Habu

The species was first described in 1849 by the British zoologist John Gray as Craspedocephalus elegans . No subspecies are distinguished. The specific epithet elegans means "elegant". The common name of the Sakishima Habu is derived from the Sakishima Islands , which consist of the Yaeyama Islands, on which the species has its natural range, and the Miyako Islands.

Synonyms

The synonyms used in the literature are sorted by time:

  • Craspedocephalus elegans Gray 1849
  • Trimeresurus luteus Boettger 1895
  • Lachesis luteus Boulenger 1896
  • Lachesis lutea Boettger 1898
  • Lachesis mucrosquamatus Wall 1906
  • Trimeresurus elegans Stejneger 1907
  • Protobothrops elegans Kraus et al. 1996

External system

The sympatric Habu snake ( P. flavoviridis ) related to the Sakishima habu

The closest relatives of the Sakishima Habu are the Habuschnake ( P. flavoviridis ) and the Tokara Habu ( P. tokarensis ). Both are also common on the Ryūkyū Islands. The Habu snake is endemic to the Okinawa and the Amami Islands to the north of it , while the Tokara Habu is only found on two of the Tokara Islands , which are named a little further north ( Takara-jima and Kotakara-jima ). Thus, only on Okinawa Hontō there is an area of ​​overlap between the Sakishima Habu and the Habo snake. There are reports of hybrids of both species.

Shibata et al. examined the species of the genus Protobothrops phylogenetically in 2016 and grouped the three Japanese species as follows:

 Protobothrops 

 Amami clade 

P. tokarensis


   

P. flavoviridis (1)



 Okinawa clade 

P. flavoviridis (2)



  

P. elegans



Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The grouping of the specimens of the species P. flavoviridis found on the Amami Islands with the species P. tokarensis from the Tokara Islands indicates that P. flavoviridis is paraphyletic , whereas the species status of P. elegans could be confirmed.

See also

Web links

Commons : Sakishima-Habu ( Protobothrops elegans )  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Oskar Böttger : New frogs and snakes from the Liukiu Islands. In: Zoologischer Anzeiger. Ed .: German Zoological Society . Volume 18 (1895), No. 479, pp. 266-270, here pp. 269-270 ( Scan  - Internet Archive ).
  2. ^ Andreas Gumprecht, F. Tillack, NL Orlov, A. Captain, S. Ryabow: Asian pitvipers. Geitje Books, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-937975-00-4 , p. 368.
  3. ↑ a b c Sakishimahabu. In: hatyu.info. Retrieved August 8, 2021 (Japanese).
  4. ↑ Sean M Harrington, Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane: Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. In: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 125, Issue 1, September 2018, ISSN  0024-4066 , pp. 61-71, doi: 10.1093 / biolinnean / bly097 .
  5. ↑ a b 出 会 っ た ら 注意！ 毒蛇 「サ キ シ マ ハ ブ」 の 見 分 け 方 と は… . In: iriomotejima.com. Retrieved August 8, 2021 (Japanese).
  6. ↑ a b M. Toriba: Sakishima habu. In: S. Sengoku, T. Hikida, M. Matsui, K. Nakaya (Eds.): The Encyclopedia of Animals in Japan. Volume 5: Amphibians, Reptiles, Chondrichthyes. Heibonsha Limited, Tokyo 1996, OCLC 953694159 (Japanese).
  7. ↑ a b 沖 縄 県 に お け る 令 和 元年 （2019 年） の 毒蛇 咬 症. (PDF; 2.2 MB) Okinawa Prefecture, 2019, accessed August 7, 2021 (Japanese).
  8. ↑ a b c d Protobothrops elegans In: The Reptile Database ; accessed on July 26, 2021.
  9. ↑ H. Ota, Mi. Toda, G. Masunaga, A. Kikukawa, Ma. Toda: Feral populations of amphibians and reptiles in the Ryukyu archipelago, Japan. In: Global Environmental Research. Volume 8 (2004), ISSN  1343-8808 , pp. 133-143.
  10. ↑ 宮 古 で ハ ブ 初 捕獲 県 、 注意 呼 び 掛 け. In: ryukyushimpo.jp. April 24, 2013, Retrieved August 6, 2021 (Japanese).
  11. ↑ 宮 古 島 で ハ ブ 初 捕獲 ／ 平 良港 近 く の 公園 内. In: miyakomainichi.com. April 24, 2013, Retrieved August 6, 2021 (Japanese).
  12. ↑ a b Protobothrops elegans in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: H. Ota, N. Kidera, 2016. Accessed July 26, 2021st
  13. ^ A b John Edward Gray : Catalog of the specimens of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Edward Newman, London 1849, p. 7 ( scan in Google book search).
  14. ^ George Albert Boulenger : Catalog of the snakes in the British Museum. Vol. 3. Taylor & Francis, London 1896, p. 553 ( Biodiversity Heritage Library ).
  15. ^ Oskar Böttger : Catalog of the reptile collection in the museum of the Senckenberg Natural Research Society in Frankfurt / M. Part 2: snakes. [type catalog]. Knauer Brothers, Frankfurt / M. 1898, OCLC 162669345 (i-ix + 1-160 S.).
  16. ^ F. Wall: Notes on a collection of snakes from Japan and the Loo Choo Islands. In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. London 1905 (Vol. 2: May – December), pp. 511–517, here p. 516 ( Biodiversity Heritage Library ).
  17. ^ Leonhard H. Stejneger : Herpetology of Japan and adjacent territory. In: Bulletin (United States National Museum). 58 (1907), pp. Xx, 470-475 ( Biodiversity Heritage Library ).
  18. ↑ Fred Kraus, Daniel G. Mink, Wesley M. Brown: Crotaline intergeneric relationships based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data. In: Copeia . 1996 (4), pp. 763-773, JSTOR 1447637 .
  19. ↑ Protobothrops flavoviridis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: H. Ota, N. Kidera, 2016. Accessed August 6 2,021th
  20. ↑ Protobothrops tokarensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2018 Posted by: H. Ota, N. Kidera, 2016. Accessed August 6 2,021th
  21. ↑ a b Hiroki Shibata, Takahito Chiji, Shosaku Hattori, Koki Terada, Motonori Ohno, Yasuyuki Fukumaki: The taxonomic position and the unexpected divergence of the Habu viper, Protobothrops among Japanese subtropical islands. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Volume 101, August 2016, ISSN  1055-7903 , pp. 91-100, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2016.04.027 .