Plagiopholis
Plagiopholis is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae.[1][2] The genus is native to Asia.
| Plagiopholis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Plagiopholis styani | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Pseudoxenodontinae |
| Genus: | Plagiopholis Boulenger, 1893 |
General Facts
The species of the genus Plagiopholis are found in Southeast Asia, China and Taiwan.[3][4][5][6][7] The snakes of this genus are mountainous species that can be found in grasses and bushes. They feed primarily on earthworms, frogs, and arthropods (Zhao 2006). All species are oviparous, meaning they use internal fertilization to lay eggs.[8] Plagiopholis species can be distinguished from other genera in the subfamily Pseudoxenodontinae by their lower midbody scale count, entire anal plate, and smaller size (O'Shea 2018).
List of species
- Plagiopholis blakewayi Boulenger, 1893[4] – Blakeway's mountain snake
- Plagiopholis delacouri Angel, 1929[5]
- Plagiopholis nuchalis (Boulenger, 1893)[6] – Assam mountain snake
- Plagiopholis styani (Boulenger, 1899)[7] – Chinese mountain snake
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Plagiopholis.
Etymology
The specific name, blakewayi, is in honor of a Lieutenant Blakeway who resigned from the British army and collected reptiles in what is now Myanmar.[9]
The specific name, delacouri, is in honor of French-born American ornithologist Jean Théodore Delacour.[9]
Original publication
- Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Plagiopholis, new genus, p. 301).().
References
- "Plagiopholis ". uBIO. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- "Plagiopholis ". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- Wallach, Van; Williams, Kenneth L.; Boundy, Jeff. (2014). Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. pp. 562–563 (of 1, 237 pp.). ISBN 9781482208474.
- "Plagiopholis blakewayi ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- "Plagiopholis delacouri ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- "Plagiopholis nuchalis ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- "Plagiopholis styani ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- Genus Plagiopholis 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. (Plagiopholis blakewayi, p. 26; P. delacouri, p. 68).
Further reading
- Zhong GH, De Chen W, Liu Q, Zhu F, Peng P, Guo P (2015). "Valid or not? Yunnan mountain snake Plagiopholis unipostocularis (Serpentes: Colubridae: Pseudoxenodontinae)". Zootaxa 4020 (2): 390-396.
- O'Shea M (2018). The Book of Snakes: A life-size guide to six hundred species from around the world. University of Chicago Press.