''Crotaphopeltis tornieri'', also known
commonly as
Tornier's cat snake and
Werner's cat 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 snake in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Colubridae
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 ...
. The species 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 elsew ...
to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''tornieri'', is in honor of German zoologist
Gustav Tornier
Gustav Tornier ( Dombrowken (today Dąbrowa Chełmińska, Poland), 9 May 1858 – Berlin, 25 April 1938) was a German zoologist and herpetologist.
Life and career
Tornier was born in the Kingdom of Prussia as the eldest child of Gottlob Adolf Tor ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Crotaphopeltis tornieri'', p. 266).]
Geographic range
''C. tornieri'' is found in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and
Kenya
)
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, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
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. tornieri'' 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 altitudes of .
Reproduction
''C. tornieri'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Rasmussen JB (1993). "The current taxonomic status of Tornier's cat-snake (''Crotaphopeltis tornieri)''". ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 14: 395–409.
* Finke, Florian & Daniel Liepack (2021). A first record of the Tornier's Cat Snake (Crotaphopeltis tornieri erner, 1908 from Kenya. Erstnachweis der Torniers Katzennatter (Crotaphopeltis tornieri erner, 1908 in Kenia. Sauria 43 (2): 67-70
https://sauria.de/freepdf/Sauria2021_2_67-70.pdf
*Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Hinkel, Harald; Menegon, Michele (2018). ''Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition''. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. . (''Crotaphopeltis tornieri'', p. 526).
* Werner F (1908). "''Ergebnisse der mit Subvention aus der Erbschaft Treitl unternommenen zoologischen Forschungreise Dr. Franz Werner's nach dem ägyptischen Sudan und Nord-Uganda. XII. Die Reptilien und Amphibien'' ". ''Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Wissenschaftliche Klasse'' 116: 1823–1926. (''Leptodira tornieri'', new species, p. 1876). (in German).
Reptiles described in 1908
Reptiles of Malawi
Reptiles of Tanzania
Colubrids
{{colubrid-stub