The Sikkim keelback (''Herpetoreas sieboldii'') 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 ...

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogniz ...

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 ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. It is closely related to the Himalayan keelback, and some treat this species as a synonym (Tillack 2003).

Geographic range

''H. sieboldii'' is found in

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 ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

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 ...

(

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

(formerly called Burma),

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

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 ...

.. www.reptile-database.org.

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 ...

, ''sieboldii'', is in honor of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold Prof Karl (Carl) Theodor Ernst von Siebold FRS(For) HFRSE (16 February 1804 – 7 April 1885) was a German physiologist and zoologist. He was responsible for the introduction of the taxa Arthropoda and Rhizopoda, and for defining the taxon Protoz ...

Reproduction

''H. sieboldii'' 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

* Günther A (1860). "Contributions to a Knowledge of the Reptiles of the Himalaya Mountains". ''Proc. Zool. Soc. London'' 1860: 148–175. (''Herpetoreas sieboldii'', new species, pp. 156–157). *Günther A (1864). ''The Reptiles of British India''. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor & Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. (''Herpetoreas sieboldii'', pp. 257–258). * Kramer E (1977). "''Zur Schlangenfauna Nepals'' ". ''Rev. suisse Zool.'' 84 (3): 721–761. (in German). * Malnate EV (1966). "''Amphiesma platyceps'' (Blyth) and ''Amphiesma sieboldii'' (Günther): sibling species (Reptilia: Serpentes)". ''J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.'' 63 (1): 1–17. * Theobald W (1868). "Catalogue of Reptiles in the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal". ''J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, Calcutta'' 37 (extra number 146): (2), vi + 7-88. *Theobald W (1876). ''Descriptive Catalogue of the Reptiles of British India''. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. xiii + 238 pp. * Tillack F (2003). "''Über die Verbreitung und Biologie der Himalaya-Gebirgswassernatter'' Amphiesma platyceps ''(Blyth 1854) und einen Fall von'' Amphigonia retardata ''(Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae)''". ''Sauria'' 25 (1): 21–27. (in German). Herpetoreas Reptiles described in 1860 Taxa named by Albert Günther Reptiles of India Reptiles of Bangladesh Reptiles of Myanmar Reptiles of Nepal Reptiles of Pakistan {{Colubrids-stub

Geographic range

Etymology

Reproduction

References

Further reading