Elaphe moellendorffi

Elaphe moellendorffi, commonly called the flower snake or Moellendorf's [sic] rat snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to southeastern Asia.

Elaphe moellendorffi
juvenile flower snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Elaphe
Species:
E. moellendorffi
Binomial name
Elaphe moellendorffi
(Boettger, 1886)
Synonyms[1]
  • Cynophis moellendorffi
    Boettger, 1886
  • Coluber moellendorffi
    — Boulenger, 1894
  • Elaphe moellendorffi
    — Stejneger, 1907
  • Amblycephalus moellendorffi
    — Deuve, 1961
  • Orthriophis moellendorffi
    — Utiger et al., 2002
  • Elaphe moellendorffi
    — Chen et al., 2017

Etymology

The specific name, moellendorffi, is in honor of German malacologist Otto Franz von Möllendorf.[2]

Geographic range

E. moellendorffi is found in China (Guangdong, Guangxi) and Vietnam (Hòa Bình). It may possibly also occur in Laos.[1]

Description

E. moellendorffi is a large snake. Adults may attain a total length (including tail) of 1.66 m (5.4 ft).[3]

A subadult Elaphe moellendorffi

Reproduction

E. moellendorffi is oviparous.[1]

References
  1. Species Elaphe moellendorffi at The Reptile Database
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael 92011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Elaphe moellendorffi, p. 81).
  3. Boulenger (1894).

Further reading
  • Boettger O (1886). "Diagnoses Reptilium Novorum ab ill. viris O. Herz et Consule Dr. O. Fr. de Moellendorf in Sina meridionali reportorum ". Zoologischer Anzeiger 9: 519-520. (Cynophis moellendorffi, new species, p. 520). (in Latin).
  • Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Coluber moellendorffi, p. 56).
  • Chen, Xin; Lemmon, Alan R.; Lemmon, Emily Moriarty; Pyron, R. Alexander; Burbrink, Frank T. (2017). "Using phylogenomics to understand the link between biogeographic origins and regional diversification in ratsnakes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 111: 206-218.
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