''Oligodon woodmasoni'', the yellow-striped kukri snake, is a
species of snake in the
family 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 to the
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of the Indian s ...
of
India.
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 ...
, ''woodmasoni'', is in honor of English zoologist
James Wood-Mason.
Description
M.A. Smith reported that the
holotype of this species was missing from the
ZSI Kolkata collections. The species was rediscovered in 2002 and a new specimen was deposited at the ZSI.
[ Krishnan S (2003). "The distribution of some reptiles in the Nicobar Islands, India". ANET technical report - May 2003.]
The details of the specimen, ZSI25503 are as follows:
Snout-to-vent length: . Tail length: .
Dorsal scale
In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...
rows: at neck 18; at midbody 17.
Ventrals: 185.
Subcaudals: 46.
Supralabials
In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...
: 6 (4th in contact with the eye). Infralabials: 7.
Reproduction
''O. woodmasoni'' 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
* Boulenger GA (1894). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (''Simotes woodmasoni'', p. 223).
* Sharma RC (2003). ''Handbook: Indian Snakes''. Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India. 292 pp. .
* Smith MA (1943). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (''Oligodon woodmasoni'', pp. 218–219, Figure 73).
* Vijayakumar SP, David P
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(2006). "Taxonomy, Natural History, and Distribution of the Snakes of the Nicobar Islands (India), Based on New Materials and with an Emphasis on Endemic Species". ''Russian Journal of Herpetology'' 13 (1): 11–40.
woodmasoni
Reptiles of India
Endemic fauna of the Nicobar Islands
Taxa named by William Lutley Sclater
Reptiles described in 1891
{{Colubrinae-stub