Trachischium
| Trachischium | |
|---|---|
| |
| Trachischium tenuiceps (yellowbelly worm-eating snake) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Natricinae |
| Genus: | Trachischium Günther, 1858 |
Trachischium is a genus of snakes, known commonly as slender snakes or worm-eating snakes, in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae.[1] The genus is endemic to Asia.
Geographic range
[edit]Species of the genus Trachischium are found through montane regions of the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal.
Description
[edit]Snakes of the genus Trachischium exhibit the following characters: head not distinct from neck; eye small, with vertically subelliptic pupil; nostril between two small nasals; prefrontals sometimes united; body cylindrical; dorsal scales smooth, in 13 or 15 rows, without apical pits; ventrals rounded; tail short; subcaudals divided; maxillary teeth 18–20, subequal; posterior mandibular teeth shorter than anterior; hypapophyses developed throughout vertebral column.[2]
Species
[edit]There are 7 species in the genus Trachischium which are recognized as being valid.[1]
- Trachischium apteii Bhosale, Gowande, & Mirza, 2019
- Trachischium fuscum (Blyth, 1854) – blackbelly worm-eating snake, Darjeeling slender snake
- Trachischium guentheri Boulenger, 1890 – Günther's worm-eating snake, rosebelly worm-eating snake
- Trachischium laeve Peracca, 1904 – olive Oriental slender snake
- Trachischium monticola (Cantor, 1839) – mountain worm-eating snake
- Trachischium sushantai Raha, S. Das, Bag, Debnath & Pramanick, 2018 – Sushanta's worm-eating snake
- Trachischium tenuiceps (Blyth, 1854) – yellowbelly worm-eating snake
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Trachischium.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Trachischium at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 October 2018.
- ^ 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. (Genus Trachischium, p. 297).
Further reading
[edit]- Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Genus Trachischium, p. 284).
- Günther A (1858). Catalogue of Colubrine Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xvi + 281 pp. (Trachischium, new genus, p. 30).
- Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Genus Trachischium, p. 321).
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