Leioheterodon geayi
Leioheterodon geayi, commonly known as Geay's hognose snake, the Madagascan speckled hognose snake, and the speckled hognose snake, is a species of mildly venomous snake in the family Lamprophiidae. The species is native to southwestern Madagascar.
Leioheterodon geayi | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Pseudoxyrhophiidae |
Genus: | Leioheterodon |
Species: | L. geayi |
Binomial name | |
Leioheterodon geayi Mocquard, 1905 | |
Synonyms[2] | |
Etymology
The specific name, geayi, is in honor of French naturalist Martin François Geay (1859-1910) who collected the type specimen.[3]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of L. geayi are forest, savanna, and sandy areas, but it has also been found in pastures and villages.[1]
Description
L. geayi can grow to a total length (including tail) of 90–140 cm (35–55 in).
It is an opisthoglyphous ("rear-fanged") snake, having a pair of enlarged teeth at the rear of each maxilla (upper jaw).[4]
Behavior
L. geayi is terrestrial and diurnal.[1]
References
- Ramanamanjato J-B, Randriamahazo H, Rakotondravony H (2011). "Leioheterodon geayi ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.172917A6941441.en. Accessed on 14 July 2023.
- Species Leioheterodon geayi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Leioheterodon geayi, p. 99).
- Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Genus Lioheterodon [sic], pp. 268-269).
Further reading
- Glaw F, Vences M (1994). A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Second Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag / Serpents Tale. 480 pp. ISBN 978-3929449013.
- Mocquard F (1905). "Description de deux nouvelles espèces de Reptiles ". Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle de Paris 11: 288-290. (Lioheterodon [sic] geayi, new species, pp. 289–290). (in French).