Swaziland house snake
| Swaziland house snake | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Inyoka | ||||||||||||
| Branch & Kelly , 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Inyoka swazicus | ||||||||||||
| ( Schaefer , 1970) |
The Swaziland house snake ( Inyoka swazicus , Syn . : Lamprophis swazicus ) is the only species of the monotypical genus Inyoka . The non-poisonous snake from the superfamily of the adder-like and viper-like (Colubroidae) occurs in South Africa and Swaziland .
The generic name Inyoka means "snake" in the Siswati language , the type epithet refers to Swaziland, which was renamed Eswatini in 2018 .
features
The Swaziland house snake is up to 90 centimeters long. It is uniformly reddish-beige in color. The head is relatively small and significantly wider than the neck. The head is wider than it is high. Inyoka swazicus has relatively large eyes, the pupil is vertically oval.
The scales are not keeled, but have a slight indentation. The Swaziland domestic snake has 17 rows of dorsal scales around the middle of its body . Abdominal scales ( scutum ventrale ) are present between 199 and 208. In contrast to the 220 to 244 slightly keeled abdominal scales of Hormonotus modestus, they are smooth. This is followed by the non-divided anal shield , whereupon 75 to 91 scales follow on the underside of the tail ( scutum subcaudale ).
When viewed from above, the Swaziland house snake has large head shields that are symmetrically arranged. In the side view it has eight scales of the upper lip and nine to eleven shields of the lower lip . The third to fifth of the scales of the upper lip, counting from the front, border the eye. In front of the eye there is a scale (pre- ocular ) and behind it two post-oculars.
distribution
Inyoka swazicus inhabits rocky terrain in steppes and savannahs at altitudes of 1400 to 1900 meters above sea level. NN . The distribution area covers an area greater than 10,000 km² from the South African province of Limpopo in the north via Mpumalanga and Swaziland to KwaZulu-Natal in the south.
Way of life
The Swaziland house snake is a purely nocturnal hunter that feeds primarily on small lizards and birds. She climbs well and hunts in trees. In summer the oviparous snake lays eggs. She can live up to 20 years in captivity.
Systematics
Schaefer the Swazi Rock Snake in 1970 under the scientific name Lamprophis swazicus first described and classified in the genus Lamprophis classified. However, genetic studies by Branch and Belly 2011 have shown that the genus Lamprophis is polyphyletic and the Swaziland domestic snake is more closely related to Hormonotus modestus , which is why it was the only species to be spun off into the new genus Inyoka .
protection
The IUCN lists the snake in the Red List of Threatened Species as "near threatened", while according to a South African study it is classified as not endangered due to its widespread distribution and the relatively untouched habitat.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Christopher MR Kelly, William R. Branch, Donald G. Broadley, Nigel P. Barker, Martin H. Villet: Molecular systematics of the African snake family Lamprophiidae Fitzinger, 1843 (Serpentes: Elapoidea), with particular focus on the genera Lamprophis Fitzinger 1843 and Mehelya Csiki 1903 . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 58 , 2011, p. 415-426 .
- ↑ biodiversityexplorer.org: Lamprophis swazicus (Swazi rock snake).
- ↑ Inyoka swazicus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: World Conservation Monitoring Center., 1996
Web links
- lamprophis.proboards.com: pictures
- Inyoka swazicus in The Reptile Database