Oligodon
Oligodon | |
---|---|
Western kukri snake Oligodon affinis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
Genus: | Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826[1] |
Species | |
75 known species[2] |
Oligodon is genus of colubrid snakes that was first described by the Austrian zoologist Fitzinger in 1826.[1] This genus is widespread throughout central and tropical Asia.[3]
Description
Oligodon are also known as kukri snakes. They are egg eaters and are usually under 90 cm (35 in) in length; different species display widely variable patterns and colorations. They subsist mostly by scavenging the eggs of birds and reptiles. Besides eggs, species of this genus also feeds on lizards, frogs, and small rodents. Oligodon is a rear-fanged snake genus. They have a set of enlarged teeth placed in the back of their mouths, as well as functional Duvernoy's glands. They are not dangerous to humans, though. Bites by some species have been reported to bleed excessively, suggesting presence of anticoagulants in the Duvernoy's gland secretions.[4] Species of Oligodon are mostly nocturnal, and live on the floor of mature forests.
The common name of the genus comes from the kukri, a distinctively shaped Nepalese knife, which is similar in shape to the broad, flattened, curved hind teeth of Oligodon species. These teeth are specially adapted for their main diet of eggs; the teeth slit open eggs as they are being swallowed by the snake, allowing for easier digestion.
Species
There are 74 recognized species in Oligodon according to Reptile Database as of November 2013[2] and one more assessed in the IUCN Red List.[5]
The source column gives direct links to the sources used:
- IUCN description of species at International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List categories are:
- EX - Extinct, EW - Extinct in the Wild
- CR - Critically Endangered, EN - Endangered, VU - Vulnerable
- NT - Near Threatened, LC - Least Concern
- DD - Data Deficient, NE - Not Evaluated
- RDB description of species at Reptile Database.
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Oligodon.
Common name | Species | Authority | Geographic range | Conservation status | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Western kukri snake, Malabar brown kukri snake | O. affinis | Günther, 1862 | India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Light-barred kukri snake | O. albocinctus | (Cantor, 1839) | Nepal, Bangladesh, India (Assam, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh), Burma, Vietnam, China (Tibet, Yunnan) | RDB | |
Northern short-headed snake | O. ancorus | (Girard, 1858) | Philippines (Mindoro, Luzon) | NT | IUCN RDB |
Annam kukri snake | O. annamensis | Leviton, 1953 | Vietnam (Lam Dang Province) | DD | IUCN RDB |
Spotted kukri snake, ringed kukri snake | O. annulifer | (Boulenger, 1893) | Brunei, Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Russet kukri snake, common kukri snake, banded kukri | O. arnensis | (Shaw, 1802) | Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India (West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab), Pakistan, Nepal | RDB | |
Barron's kukri snake | O. barroni | (M.A. Smith, 1916) | Thailand, Southern Vietnam, Cambodia, South Laos | LC | IUCN RDB |
Javanese mountain kukri snake, Boie's kukri snake | O. bitorquatus | F. Boie, 1827 | Indonesia (Java, possibly South Sumatra and Sumbawa) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Boo-Liat's kukri snake | O. booliati[6] | Leong & Grismer, 2004 | Malaysia (Tioman island) | CR | IUCN RDB |
Short-tailed kukri snake, shorthead kukri snake | O. brevicauda | Günther, 1862 | India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala) | VU | IUCN RDB |
Templeton's kukri snake | O. calamarius | (Linnaeus, 1758) | Sri Lanka | RDB | |
Assam kukri snake | O. catenatus | (Blyth, 1854) | India, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, South China (Guangdong, Guangxi) | RDB | |
Chinese kukri snake | O. chinensis | (Günther, 1888) | southern China, northern Vietnam | LC | IUCN RDB |
Black cross-barred kukri snake, ashy kukri snake, golden kukri snake, Günther's kukri snake | O. cinereus | (Günther, 1864) | India (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh), Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, China (Yunnan, Hong Kong, Hainan, Guangxi, Fujian, Guangdong) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Pegu kukri snake | O. cruentatus | (Günther, 1868) | Burma | LC | IUCN RDB |
North-east Indian kukri snake, Cantor's kukri snake | O. cyclurus | (Cantor, 1839) | India (Assam), Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China (Yunnan), Nepal, Bangladesh | LC | IUCN RDB |
O. deuvei[7] | David, Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008 | Cambodia, southern Vietnam, Laos, probably eastern Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB | |
Gray's kukri snake, Bengalese kukri snake | O. dorsalis | (Gray & Hardwicke, 1835) | India (Assam), Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand | RDB | |
Durheim's kukri snake | O. durheimi[5] | Baumann, 1913 | northern Sumatra in Indonesia (Batak Mountains) | DD | IUCN RDB: O. pulcherrimus |
Eberhardt's kukri snake | O. eberhardti | Pellegrin, 1910 | Vietnam, China (Guangxi, Fujian), possibly Laos, Cambodia and Burma | LC | IUCN RDB |
Nagarkot kukri snake | O. erythrogaster | Boulenger, 1907 | Central and East Nepal, India (Sikkim) | RDB | |
Red-striped kukri snake, Namsang kukri snake | O. erythrorhachis | Wall, 1910 | India (Arunachal Pradesh) | DD | IUCN RDB |
Jewelled kukri snake, Everett's kukri snake[8] | O. everetti | Boulenger, 1893 | Indonesia (Kalimantan), Malaysia (Sabah) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Small-banded kukri snake, fasciolated kukri snake | O. fasciolatus | (Günther, 1864) | Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam | LC | IUCN RDB |
Forbes' kukri snake | O. forbesi | (Boulenger, 1883) | Indonesia (Selaru and Yamdena in Tanimbar Islands) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Taiwan kukri snake, Formosa kukri snake | O. formosanus | (Günther, 1872) | Vietnam, Taiwan, South China (Chekiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Nan Ao Island, Hainan, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Zhejiang, Yunnan) | RDB | |
Hampton's kukri snake | O. hamptoni | Boulenger, 1918 | Burma | DD | IUCN RDB |
Inornate kukri snake, unicolored kukri snake | O. inornatus | (Boulenger, 1914) | Cambodia, North and Southeast Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB |
Jintakune's kukri snake | O. jintakunei[9] | Pauwels, Wallach, David, Chanhome, 2002 | South Thailand | DD | IUCN RDB |
Grey kukri snake, Joynson's kukri snake | O. joynsoni | (M.A. Smith, 1917) | northern Thailand, possibly Laos, Burma, China (Yunnan) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Walnut kukri snake | O. juglandifer | (Wall, 1909) | India (Sikkim), West Bhutan | VU | IUCN RDB |
O. kampucheaensis[10] | Neang, Grismer & Daltry, 2012 | Cambodia | RDB | ||
O. kheriensis[11] | Acharji & Ray, 1936 | India (Uttar Pradesh), Southwest Nepal | RDB | ||
Lacroix kukri snake | O. lacroixi | Angel & Bourret, 1933 | China (Sichuan, Yunnan), Vietnam | VU | IUCN RDB |
O. lungshenensis | Zheng & Huang, 1978 | China (Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan) | NT | IUCN RDB | |
Angel's kukri snake | O. macrurus | (Angel, 1927) | Vietnam | DD | IUCN RDB |
Barred short-headed snake, spotted kukri snake | O. maculatus | (Taylor, 1918) | Philippines (Mindanao) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Arakan kukri snake, McDougall's kukri snake | O. mcdougalli | Wall, 1905 | Burma | LC | IUCN RDB |
Bluebelly kukri snake | O. melaneus | Wall, 1909 | India | RDB | |
Abor Hills kukri snake | O. melanozonatus | Wall, 1922 | India, China (Tibet) | RDB | |
Sulu short-headed snake, Meyerink's kukri snake | O. meyerinkii | (Steindachner, 1891) | Philippine Islands (Bongao, Jolo, Papahang, Sibutu, Tawi-Tawi in Sulu Archipelago), possibly Malaysia (Sabah) | EN | IUCN RDB |
Spotted-bellied short-headed snake, Luzon kukri snake | O. modestum | Günther, 1864 | Philippines (Mindanao, Negros, Tablas, Panay, Cebu, possibly Luzon) | VU | IUCN RDB |
Morice's kukri snake | O. moricei[7] | David, Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008 | Southern Vietnam | DD | IUCN RDB |
Cambodian kukri snake, Mouhot’s kukri snake | O. mouhoti | (Boulenger, 1914) | Cambodia, East Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB |
Luding kukri snake | O. multizonatus | Zhao & Jiang, 1981 | China (southeast Gansu) | DD | IUCN RDB |
O. nagao[12] | David, Q. Nguyen, T. Nguyen, Jiang, Chen, Teynié & Ziegler, 2012 | Northern Vietnam, Southwest China (Guangxi), Laos | RDB | ||
Nikhil's kukri snake | O. nikhili | Whitaker & Dattatri, 1982 | India (Tamil Nadu) | DD | IUCN RDB |
Ningshaan kukri snake | O. ningshaanensis | Yuan, 1983 | China (Shaanxi) | DD | IUCN RDB |
O. notospilus | Günther, 1873 | Philippine Islands (Palawan, Busuanga, Balabac, Mindanao) | RDB | ||
Eyed kukri snake, ocellated kukri snake | O. ocellatus | (Morice, 1875) | Cambodia, Lao, southern Vietnam | LC | IUCN RDB |
Eight-lined kukri snake, eight-striped kukri snake, Grace's kukri snake | O. octolineatus | (Schneider, 1801) | Brunei, Indonesia (Java, Borneo, Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Singapore | LC | IUCN RDB |
Ornate kukri snake | O. ornatus | Van Denburgh, 1909 | China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang), Taiwan, | LC | IUCN RDB |
Perkin's short-headed snake | O. perkinsi | (Taylor, 1925) | Philippines (Palawan, Culion and Calauit Islands) | NT | IUCN RDB |
Petronella's[13] kukri snake | O. petronellae | Roux, 1917 | Indonesia (Sumatra) | DD | IUCN RDB |
O. planiceps | (Boulenger, 1888) | Burma | LC | IUCN RDB | |
Pulau Weh kukri snake | O. praefrontalis | F. Werner, 1913 | Indonesia (Weh Island) | DD | IUCN RDB |
False striped kukri snake | O. pseudotaeniatus[7] | David, Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008 | Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB |
O. pulcherrimus | F. Werner, 1909 | Indonesia (Sumatra) | VU | IUCN RDB | |
Purple kukri snake, brown kukri snake | O. purpurascens | (Schlegel, 1837) | Brunei, Indonesia (Bali, Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Singapore, Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB |
Saint Giron's kukri snake | O. saintgironsi[3] | David, Vogel & Pauwels, 2008 | Vietnam, Cambodia | DD | IUCN RDB |
Half-keeled kukri snake, barred kukri snake, banded kukri snake | O. signatus | (Günther, 1864) | Indonesia (Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Singapore | LC | IUCN RDB |
Splendid kukri snake | O. splendidus | (Günther, 1875) | Burma | LC | IUCN RDB |
Duméril's kukri snake | O. sublineatus | A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 | Sri Lanka | LC | IUCN RDB |
Striped kukri snake | O. taeniatus | (Günther, 1861) | Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, possibly China (Yunnan) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Streaked sukri knake, Loos snake | O. taeniolatus | (Jerdon, 1853) | Afghanistan, India, Iran, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan | LC | IUCN RDB |
O. templetoni[14] | (Linnaeus, 1758) | India and Sri Lanka | DD | IUCN RDB: O. calamarius | |
Mandalay kukri snake, Theobald's kukri snake | O. theobaldi | (Günther, 1868) | Bangladesh, Burma | LC | IUCN RDB |
O. torquatus | (Boulenger, 1888) | Burma | DD | IUCN RDB | |
Travancore kukri snake | O. travancoricus | Beddome, 1877 | India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu) | DD | IUCN RDB |
Three-lined kukri snake | O. trilineatus | (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) | Indonesia (Nias, Siberut, Sumatra) | LC | IUCN RDB |
O. unicolor | (Kopstein, 1926) | Indonesia (Selaru, Yamdena) | LC | IUCN RDB | |
Jerdon's kukri snake | O. venustus | (Jerdon, 1853) | India (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu) | LC | IUCN RDB |
Dark-spined kukri snake, vertebral kukri snake | O. vertebralis | (Günther, 1865) | Indonesia (Kalimantan), Malaysia (Sabah) | DD | IUCN RDB |
Bleeker's kukri snake | O. waandersi | (Bleeker, 1860) | Indonesia (Java, Sulawesi, Buton, Sula Islands) | RDB | |
Wagner’s kukri snake | O. wagneri | David & Vogel, 2012 | Indonesia (Nias) | RDB | |
O. woodmasoni | (Sclater, 1891) | India (Nicobar Islands, possibly Andaman Islands) | RDB |
References
- 1 2 Fitzinger LJ. (1826). Neue Classification der Reptilien nach ihren natürlichen Verwandtschaften. Nebst einer Verwandtschafts-tafel und einem Verzeichnisse der Reptilien-Sammlung des K. K. zoologischen Museums zu Wien. Vienna: J.G. Heubner. 5 unnumbered + 67 pp. + one plate. (Oligodon, new genus, p. 56). (in German and Latin).
- 1 2 "Search results Genus: Oligodon - Exact match". Reptile Database. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- 1 2 David P, Vogel G, Pauwels OS (2008). "A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from northern Vietnam, southern China and central Laos" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1939: 19–37.
- ↑ Wüster W, Cox MJ (1992). "Defensive hemipenis display in the kukri snake Oligodon cyclurus ". Journal of Herpetology. 26: 238–241. doi:10.2307/1564874.
- 1 2 Vogel G. (2010). "Oligodon durheimi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ↑ Leong TM, Grismer LL (2004). "A new species of kukri snake, Oligodon (Colubridae), from Pulau Tioman, West Malaysia" (PDF). Asiatic Herpetological Research. 10: 12–16.
- 1 2 3 David, P.; Vogel, G.; van Rooijen, J. (2008). "A revision of the Oligodon taeniatus (Günther, 1861) group (Squamata: Colubridae), with the description of three new species from the Indochinese Region". Zootaxa. 1965: 1–49.
- ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Oligodon everetti, p. 86).
- ↑ Pauwels OSG, Wallach V, David P, Chanhome L (2002). "A new species of Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Serpentes, Colubridae) from southern peninsular Thailand". Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University. 2 (2): 7–18.
- ↑ Neang T, Grismer L, Daltry JC. (2012). "A new species of kukri snake (Colubridae: Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826) from the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, Cardamom Mountains, southwest Cambodia". Zootaxa 3388: 41–55.
- ↑ Acharji MN, Ray HC. (1936). "A new species of Oligodon from the United Provinces (India)". Records of the Indian Museum, Calcutta 38: 519–520.
- ↑ David P, Nguyen TQ, Nguyen TT, Jiang K, Chen T, Teynié A, Ziegler T (2012). "A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from northern Vietnam, southern China and central Laos". Zootaxa. 3498: 45–62.
- ↑ Beolens et al. 2011, p. 205.
- ↑ de Silva A. (2010). "Oligodon templetoni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
External links
- "Kukri snake". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 7, 2005.
- "Brown Kukri Snake". Wildlife Singapore. Retrieved July 7, 2005