''Liophidium pattoni'' 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

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Pseudoxyrhophiinae The Pseudoxyrhophiidae is a Family (biology), family of Elapoidea, elapoid Lamprophiidae, snakes, found mostly in Madagascar. They were formerly placed as a subfamily of the Lamprophiidae, but have been more recently identified as a distinct fami ...

of the family

Pseudoxyrhophiidae The Pseudoxyrhophiidae is a family of elapoid snakes, found mostly in Madagascar. They were formerly placed as a subfamily of the Lamprophiidae, but have been more recently identified as a distinct family. It contains about 22 genera in two s ...

. The species is endemic to Madagascar. Little is known about the snake as it was recently described in 2010, although its existence had been known for some decades (one was pictured in a 1996 guidebook) before a specimen could be caught for detailed study. Liophidium_pattoni_(6922241934)

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 ...

, ''pattoni'', is in honor of American mammalogist

James L. Patton James Lloyd Patton (June 21, 1941), is an American evolutionary biologist and mammalogist. He is emeritus professor of integrative biology and curator of mammals at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley and has made extensive contri ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Liophidium pattoni'', p. 201).

Geographic range and habitat

''L. pattoni'' is known to occur in two sites in Madagascar, the

Masoala peninsula Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island's protected areas. Most of the park is situated in Sava Region and a part in Analanjirofo. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and ...

and the Makira Plateau. It has been found in primary rainforest vegetation at elevations up to . Masoala_park_madagascar_map

Taxonomy

Originally described in 2010, ''Liophidium pattoni'' is a member of the pseudoxyrhophiine genus ''

Liophidium ''Liophidium'' is a genus of snakes in the family Pseudoxyrhophiidae. The genus contains ten species, nine of which are endemic to the island of Madagascar and one to the island of Mayotte. All species of ''Liophidium'' are harmless to humans. ...

'', which is a genus of lamprophiid snakes. Which means that ''Liophidium pattoni'' is harmless to humans. Previously, nine species of ''Liophidium'' from Madagascar had been formally described. Molecular evidence indicates that the closest sister taxon to ''L. pattoni'' is ''L. rhodogaster'' ( Schlegel, 1837). (''Liophidium pattoni'', new species)

Description

''L. pattoni'' can easily be distinguished from other members of the genus ''Liophidium'' by its unique color pattern. This species is most similar in external morphology to ''L. torquatum''. It is a thin-bodied snake with a black dorsum with discontinuous pink stripes that fade to blue-gray and white towards the posterior. The ventral coloration is bright yellow with a pink-red ventral tail region. An adult male can be in total length (including tail), and have a snout-vent length (SVL) of , and a head length of .

Diet

''L. pattoni'' is a terrestrial hunter, and while its diet is largely unknown, the holotype was collected with a Malagasy ground skink (''

Madascincus melanopleura The common Madagascar skink (''Madascincus melanopleura'') is an extant species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( ...

'') in its stomach, suggesting that it feeds on small terrestrial rainforest fauna.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3242017 Pseudoxyrhophiidae Snakes of Africa Reptiles of Madagascar Endemic fauna of Madagascar Reptiles described in 2010 Taxa named by Frank Glaw Taxa named by Miguel Vences