Xenophidion
| Xenophidion | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Xenophidiidae | ||||||||||||
| Wallach & Günther, 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Xenophidion | ||||||||||||
| Günther & Manthey , 1995 | ||||||||||||
Xenophidion is a species of snake from Malaysia, poor in species and little known. The genus name means something like "strange snake" ( ξένος xénos "strange") and is an indication of some unusual morphological properties that characterize the two species of the genus.
features
Xenophidion species reach a maximum length of 30 cm. The snakes live digging in leaf litter and under moss in dense rainforests. Characteristic for the genus is a more ( X. acanthognathus ) or less ( X. schaeferi ) keel of the scaling of the body. There is a saddle-shaped indentation between the eyes. The number of subcaudals is 43 ( X. schaeferi ) or 51 ( X. acanthognathus ). A loreal is missing. The number of teeth on the palatine bone is 8 or 10, on the wing bone 13 or 16 and in the lower jaw 12 or 19 respectively. Characteristic of the genus is a large, anterior canine and a ( X. acanthognathus ) or three ( X. schaeferi ) teeth in front of this fang, as well as a backward, spiky extension on the upper jaw, which is only visible after a dissection .
Systematics
The genus and species were both by the German 1995 herpetologist Rainer Günther and Ulrich Manthey described and first in the relationship of the snakes found (Colubridae). In 1998 Günther and Van Wallach assigned it to an independent, monotypical family (Xenophidiidae). Xenophidion is probably close to the bolyeriidae related (Bolyeriidae), with whom they share several features.
species
- Borneo spiny pine ( Xenophidion acanthognathus Günther & Manthey, 1995) - type species from the Sipitang district in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo.
- Malay prickly pine ( Xenophidion schaeferi Günther & Manthey, 1995) - only known from a single specimen from the Templar Park in the Malay state of Perak .
literature
- Rainer Günther, Ulrich Manthey, 1995. Xenophidion, a new genus with two new species of snakes from Malaysia (Serpentes, Colubridae) . Amphibia-Reptilia 16: 229-240, DOI: 10.1163 / 156853895X00028 , ISSN 0173-5373
- Robin Lawson, Joseph B. Slowinski, Frank T. Burbrink: A molecular approach to discerning the phylogenetic placement of the enigmatic snake Xenophidion schaeferi among the Alethinophidia. ( Memento of December 11, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) - Journal of Zoology, 2004 - Wiley Online Library, DOI: 10.1017 / S0952836904005278
- Laurie J. Vitt, Janalee P. Caldwell: Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Page 611, Academic Press, 2013, ISBN 0-12386-919-6
- Van Wallach, Rainer Günther, 1998. Visceral anatomy of the Malaysian snake genus Xenophidion, including a cladistic analysis and allocation to a new family. Amphibia-Reptilia, 19 (4): 385-404, DOI: 10.1163 / 156853898X00052 , ISSN 0173-5373