The banded racer (''Platyceps plinii'') is a species of
colubrid
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...
snake.
Geographic range
It is found in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
except for
North Bengal
North Bengal ( bn, উত্তরবঙ্গ/উত্তর বাংলা) is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. Gen ...
tamilnadu and
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
Description
Snout obtuse, curved and prominent; rostral large, broader than wide, the portion visible from above more than half its length from the frontal; suture between the internasals as long as that between the prefrontals or a little shorter; frontal nearly as long as its distance from the end of the snout, or as the parietals; loreal as long as deep or longer than deep; one pre-ocular, usually with a small subocular below; two or three postoculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3; upper labials 8, fourth and fifth entering the eye; 4 or 5 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields; posterior chin-shields nearly as long as the anterior, separated from each other by two or three series of scales. Dorsals smooth, in 21 or 23 rows. Ventrals 197–225; anal divided; subcaudals 73–88. Yellowish or brownish olive above, with narrow white, brown, and black variegated cross bands on the anterior half of the body; these bands may entirely disappear in the adult; lower parts uniform yellowish.
[Boulenger, G. A. (1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.]
Total length 1060 mm (3.5 feet); tail 220 mm (8.5 inches).
Shaw's original description of the species was based on a plate in Russell, Ind. Serp. (1796).
Notes
References
*Shaw, G. 1802 General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Vol.3, part 1 + 2. G. Kearsley, Thomas Davison, London: 313-615
*Wilson, Larry David 1967 Generic reallocation and review of ''Coluber fasciolatus'' Shaw (Serpentes: Colubridae) Herpetologica 23 (4): 260-275
*Revealing two centuries of confusion:new insights on nomenclature and systematic position of/ v deepak 2021 https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.71.e64345
External links
Photo of ''Argyrogena fasciolata''on Flickr
Photo of ''Argyrogena fasciolata''on Cal Photos
Image of a juvenile ''Argyrogena fasciolata''
Lycodon
Taxa named by George Shaw
Reptiles described in 1802
Reptiles of India
Reptiles of Pakistan
Reptiles of Nepal
Reptiles of Bangladesh
{{Colubrids-stub