Platyceps najadum

Platyceps najadum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Platyceps
Species: P. najadum
Binomial name
Platyceps najadum
(Eichwald, 1831)
Synonyms
  • Tyria najadum Eichwald, 1831
  • Coluber najadum
    K.P. Schmidt, 1939
  • Platyceps najadum
    — Schätti & Monsch, 2004[2]

Platyceps najadum, known commonly as Dahl's whip snake, is a species of snake in the genus Platyceps of the family Colubridae.

Taxonomy

Platyceps najadum was first described by Karl Eichwald in 1831,[1] as Tyria najadum.[2]

Geographic range

Platyceps najadum is found in the Balkans, Aegean, Cyprus, the Mid-East, and as far as Turkmenistan and the Caucasus Mountains.[3]

Habitat

P. najadum occurs in dry and xeric environments in a wide range of habitats: in desert and rocky land, in forests, woodland scrub, and agricultural land from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) altitude. It is commonly found in fields, and seen crushed on roads.

Description

P. najadum has a slim body, and is rarely over a metre (39 inches) in total length (including tail).[4]

Conservation status

P. najadum is threatened by direct persecution, forest fires and intensive agriculture, where its range interacts with human interests.[1]

Biology

P. najadum is an egg laying species. Females lay between 3 and 16 eggs in a clutch.[1]

Subspecies

Five[1] or six[2] subspecies are identified.

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Platyceps.

Etymology

Both the subspecific name, dahlii, and the common name, Dahl's whip snake, are in honor of Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.[5]

The subspecific name, schmidtleri, is in honor of German herpetologist Josef Friedrich Schmidtler (born 1942).[5]

Indigenous names

Σαϊτα (Greek), Saita, Стрелушка (Bulgarian).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lymberakis P, Ajtic R, Tok V, Ugurtas IH, Sevinç M, Crochet P-A, Mousa Disi AM, Hraoui-Bloquet S, Sadek R, Haxhiu I, Böhme W, Agasyan A, Tuniyev B, Ananjeva N, Orlov N (2009). "Platyceps najadum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  2. 1 2 3 "Platyceps najadum ". The Reptile Database. http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Platyceps&species=najadum&search_param=%28%28search%3D%27Platyceps+najadum%27%29%29
  3. "Platyceps najadum ". French language Wikipédia.
  4. http://wildlife-archipelago.gr/wordpress/reptiles/dahls-whip-snake
  5. 1 2 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. (Platyceps najadum dahlii, p. 64; P. n. schmidtleri, p. 236).

Further reading


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.