Misplaced Pages

Mimophis mahfalensis

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Species of snake

Mimophis mahfalensis
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: Psammophiidae
Genus: Mimophis
Species: M. mahfalensis
Binomial name
Mimophis mahfalensis
(Grandidier, 1867)
Synonyms
  • Psammophis mahfalensis Grandidier, 1867

Mimophis mahfalensis, also known as the common big-eyed snake, is a species of snake in the family Psammophiidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar and occurs in the central and southern parts of the island. What had been considered a northern population has been split off as a separate species, Mimophis occultus.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid.

  • Mimophis mahfalensis mahfalensis (Grandidier, 1867)
  • Mimophis mahfalensis madagascariensis Günther, 1868

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

Description

M. mahfalensis may attain a total length of 76 cm (30 in), including a tail length of 19.5 cm (7.7 in).

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of M. mahfalensis are forest, savanna, and shrubland, and it has also been found in disturbed and artificial habitats.

Diet

M. mahfalensis preys upon frogs, lizards, and snakes.

Reproduction

M. mahfalensis is oviparous.

References

  1. ^ Vences, M. (2011). "Mimophis mahfalensis ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T172997A6955260. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T172997A6955260.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Mimophis mahfalensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 11 December 2018.
  3. Rosa, Gonçalo M.; Castelo Branco, João; Couto, Henrique; Eusebio Bergò, Paolo; Andreone, Franco (2016). "Mimophis mahfalensis (common big-eyed snake) predation on Furcifer major (giant carpet chameleon) in Isalo, Madagascar". The Herpetological Bulletin (138): 40–41.
  4. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III. Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Mimophis mahfalensis, p. 171–172).

Further reading

  • Aprea G, Odierna G, Andreone F, Glaw F, Vences M (2003). "Unusual karyotype in the Malagasy colubrid snake Mimophis mahfalensis ". Amphibia-Reptilia 24 (2): 215–219.
  • Glaw F, Vences M (2006). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. ISBN 978-3929449-03-7.
  • Grandidier A (1867). "Liste des reptiles nouveaux découverts, en 1866, sur la côte sud-ouest de Madagascar ". Revue et Magazine de Zoologie (Paris), 2e Série 19: 232–234. (Psammophis mahfalensis, new species, p. 234. (in French and Latin).
  • Günther A (1868). "Sixth Account of new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fourth Series 1 (6): 413–429 + Plates XVII–XIX. (Mimophis madagascariensis, new species, pp. 421–422 + Plate XVIII).


Taxon identifiers
Mimophis mahfalensis


Stub icon

This Alethinophidia article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: