Achalinus
Appearance
Achalinus | |
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Formosa odd-scaled snake, Achalinus f. formosanus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Xenodermidae |
Genus: | Achalinus Peters, 1869[1] |
Achalinus (common name: odd-scaled snakes[2]) is a genus of harmless snakes in the family Xenodermidae. They are found in Japan, Taiwan, China, and northern Vietnam. Ten species are currently recognized.[1][3] Achalinus was previously placed in Colubridae (along with other xenodermids).[4] Nicknamed ‘odd-scaled’ due to the fact their scales do not overlap one another like most snakes, but instead are spread out and lie individually.
Species
Image | Species[3] | Taxon author[3] | Subsp.*[3] | Common name[3] | Geographic range[1][3] |
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A. ater | Bourret 1937 | 0 | Bourret's odd-scaled snake | Northern Vietnam and China in Guizhou and Guangxi | |
A. dehuaensis | Li, Wu, Xu, Zhu, Ren, Guo, & Dong, 2021 | 0 | Dehua odd–scaled snake | China | |
A. emilyae | Ziegler, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Pham, Van Schingen, Nguyen, & Le, 2019 | 0 | Emily's burrowing snake | Vietnam | |
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A. formosanus | Boulenger 1908 | 1 | Formosa odd-scaled snake | Taiwan and Japan in the southern Ryukyu islands |
A. hainanus | Huang 1975 | 0 | Hainan odd-scaled snake | China on Hainan island | |
A. huangjietangi | R. Huang, Peng, & S. Huang, 2021 | 0 | Huang's odd-scaled snake | Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China | |
A. jinggangensis | (Zong & Ma 1983) | 0 | Zong's odd-scaled snake | China in Jiangxi | |
A. juliani | Ziegler, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Pham, Van Schingen, Nguyen, & Le, 2019 | 0 | Julian's burrowing snake | Vietnam | |
A. meiguensis | Hu & Zhao 1966 | 0 | Szechwan odd-scaled snake | China in western Sichuan at elevations of 1200–1400 m | |
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A. niger | Maki 1931 | 0 | Black odd-scaled snake | Taiwan |
A. panzhihuaensis | Hou, Wang, Guo, Chen, Yuan, & Che, 2021 | 0 | Panzhihua odd-scaled snake | China | |
A. pingbianensis | Li, Yu, Wu, Liao, Tang, Liu, & Guo 2020 | 0 | Pingbian odd-scaled snake | China | |
A. rufescens | Boulenger 1888 | 0 | Boulenger's odd-scaled snake | Northern Vietnam and China in Hong Kong, Hainan and west to Guizhou, Shaanxi, Guangdong and Fujian | |
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A. spinalis | Peters 1869 | 0 | Peters' odd-scaled snake | Northern Vietnam, Japan (Kyūshū, Honshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Koshiki, Tokuno-shima: Kametoku and Inokawa), and central China (east to Fujian, west to Yunnan and Sichuan, and north to Gansu and Shaanxi. Also in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Hubei) at an elevation of 1,230 m |
A. timi | Ziegler, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Pham, Van Schingen, Nguyen, & Le, 2019 | 0 | Tim's burrowing snake | Vietnam | |
A. tranganensis[5] | Luu, Ziegler, Ha, Lo, Hoang, Ngo, Le, Tran & Nguyen, 2020 | 0 | Vietnam: Ninh Binh province | ||
A. werneri | Van Denburgh 1912 | 0 | Amami odd-scaled snake | Japan in the central Ryukyu islands | |
A. yangdatongi | Hou, Wang, Guo, Chen, Yuan, & Che, 2021 | 0 | Yang's odd-scaled snake | China | |
A. yunkaiensis | Wang, Li & Wang, 2019 | 0 | Yunkai Mountain's odd-scaled snake, Yunkai Mountain's burrowing snake | China | |
A. zugorum | Miller, Davis, Luong, and Do, 2020 | 0 | Zug's odd-scaled snake [6] | Northern Vietnam |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
References
- ^ a b c Van Wallach; Kenneth L. Williams; Jeff Boundy (22 April 2014). Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. CRC Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-1-4822-0848-1.
- ^ Durso, Andrew (23 February 2016). "Dragonsnakes and Filesnakes Revisited". Life is Short, but Snakes are Long. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Achalinus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 February 2016.
- ^ Durso, Andrew (28 May 2013). "Basics of Snake Taxonomy". Life is Short, but Snakes are Long. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ^ Luu, Vinh Quang; Ziegler, Thomas; Van Ha, Nghia; Van Lo, Oanh; Hoang, Tuoi Thi; Ngo, Hanh Thi; Le, Minh Duc; Tran, Dung Hoang; Nguyen, Truong Quang (9 November 2020). "A new species of Achalinus (Squamata: Xenodermidae) from Trang An Landscape Complex, Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam". Zootaxa. 4877 (1): 174–184. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4877.1.8. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 33311331. S2CID 228819391.
- ^ Miller, Aryeh H.; Davis, Hayden R.; Luong, Anh Mai; Do, Quyen Hanh; Pham, Cuong The; Ziegler, Thomas; Lee, Justin L.; De Queiroz, Kevin; Reynolds, R. Graham; Nguyen, Truong Quang (2020). "Discovery of a New Species of Enigmatic Odd-Scaled Snake (Serpentes: Xenodermidae: Achalinus) from Ha Giang Province, Vietnam". Copeia. 108 (4). doi:10.1643/CH2020060. S2CID 230507219.