''Lycophidion'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of nonvenomous
lamprophiid snake
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
s commonly referred to as the wolf snakes.
there are 23 recognized
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 ...
in the genus.
Description and behavior
Wolf snakes are small snakes which forage at night for sleeping lizards.
[ They have flat heads and large recurved teeth that are assumed to aid them in their extraction of lizards from their lairs.][
]
Reproduction
All species in the genus ''Lycophidion'' are oviparous and lay between 3 and 10 eggs.[
]
Species
The following species are recognized as being valid.
*'' Lycophidion acutirostre''
*'' Lycophidion albomaculatum''
*'' Lycophidion capense''
*'' Lycophidion chirioi''
*'' Lycophidion depressirostre''
*'' Lycophidion helmichi''
*'' Lycophidion irroratum''
*'' Lycophidion jacksoni'' — western Jackson's wolf snake
*'' Lycophidion laterale''
*'' Lycophidion meleagre''
*'' Lycophidion multimaculatum''
*'' Lycophidion namibianum''
*'' Lycophidion nanum''
*'' Lycophidion nigromaculatum''
*'' Lycophidion ornatum''
*'' Lycophidion pembanum''
*'' Lycophidion pygmaeum''
*'' Lycophidion semiannule''
*'' Lycophidion semicinctum''
*'' Lycophidion taylori''
*'' Lycophidion tchadensis'' — Chad wolf snake
*'' Lycophidion uzungwense''
*'' Lycophidion variegatum''
''Nota bene
(, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well".
It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature
and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...
'': A binomial authority
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Lycophidion''.
References
Further reading
* Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Genus ''Lycophidion'', p. 76).
* Fitzinger L (1843). ''Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae''. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (''Lycophidion'', new genus, p. 27). (in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
).
Lamprophiidae
Snake genera
Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger
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