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Captain's wood snake

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Species of snake

Captain's wood snake
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Pareidae
Subfamily: Xylophiinae
Genus: Xylophis
Species: X. captaini
Binomial name
Xylophis captaini
Gower & Winkler, 2007

Captain's wood snake (Xylophis captaini), also known commonly as Captain's xylophis, is a species of snake in the family Pareidae. The species is endemic to India.

Geographic range

The holotype of X. captaini is from Kanam, Kottayam district, in the state of Kerala and was found in 2000. Captain's wood snake has been recorded at low altitudes on the western side of the southern part of the Western Ghats, south of the Palakkad Gap.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of X. captaini is forest at altitudes from sea level to 300 m (980 ft), but it has also been found in disturbed areas such as plantations.

Description

A small species of snake, X. captaini does not exceed 20 cm (7.9 in) in total length (including tail).

Behavior

X. captaini is nocturnal, and burrows in leaf litter, humus, and soil to a depth of 10 cm (3.9 in). The species is non-venomous.

Diet

X. captaini preys predominantly on earthworms.

Reproduction

X. captaini is oviparous.

Etymology

The specific name, captaini, and the common names, Captain's wood snake and Captain's xylophis, are in honor of Indian herpetologist Ashok Captain for his work on Indian snakes.

References

  1. ^ Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Deepak, V.; Thakur, S. (2013). "Xylophis captaini ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T172601A1349779. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172601A1349779.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Gower DJ, Winkler JD (2007). "Taxonomy of the Indian snake Xylophis Beddome (Serpentes: Caenophidia), with description of a new species" (PDF). Hamadryad. 31 (2): 315–329. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2008. (Xylophis captaini, new species).
  3. ^ Xylophis captaini at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  4. Ganesh, S.R.; Chandramouli, S.R.; Shankar, P. Gowri (2012). "Record lengths of two endemic caenophidian snakes from the Western Ghats Mountains, India". Hamadryad 36 (1): 44–46.
  5. 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. (Xylophis captaini, p. 47).

Further reading

  • Deepak V, Ruane S, Gower DJ (2018). "A new subfamily of fossorial colubroid snakes from the Western Ghats of peninsular India". Journal of Natural History 52 (45–46): 2919–2934. (Xylophiinae, new subfamily).
  • Palot MJ (2015). "A checklist of reptiles of Kerala, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa 7 (13): 8010–8022.


Taxon identifiers
Xylophis captaini


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