''Calamaria alidae'', commonly known as the Bengkulu reed snake, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of snakes in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Colubridae.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''alidae'', is in honor of Alida Brooks who collected natural history specimens in Sumatra with her husband
Cecil Joslin Brooks.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Calamaria alidae'', p. 5).]
Geographic range
''C. alidae'' is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to western
Sumatra in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''C. alidae'' is
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
, at an altitude of .
Description
According to
Boulenger (1920), the
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...
of ''C. alidae'' measures in total length, including the tail which is long.
Reproduction
''C. alidae'' is
oviparous.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1920). "Descriptions of a new Gecko and a new Snake from Sumatra". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ninth Series'' 5: 281–283. (''Calamaria alidae'', new species, pp. 282–283).
* Inger RF, Marx H (1965). "The Systematics and Evolution of the Oriental Colubrid Snakes of the Genus ''Calamaria''". ''Fieldiana: Zoology'' 49: 1–304. (''Calamaria alidae'', pp. 235–237, Figure 63).
*Marx H, Inger RF (1955). "Notes on Snakes of the Genus ''Calamaria''". ''Fieldiana: Zoology'' 37: 167–209. (''Calamaria alidae'', p. 200).
Calamaria
Snakes of Southeast Asia
Reptiles of Indonesia
Endemic fauna of Sumatra
Reptiles described in 1920
Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger
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