Boomsong's stream snake (''Isanophis boonsongi''), also known as Boomsong's keelback and Boonsong's stream 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 ...

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 ...

Natricinae (keelbacks). It is monotypic in the genus ''Isanophis''. The species is endemic to Thailand.

Taxonomy

Boomsong's stream snake is a rare snake only known from three specimens. It was originally described as ''Parahelicops boonsongi'' in 1958 on the basis of a single specimen (''Parahelicops boonsongi'', new species, pp. 1156–1159, Figure 31). and has since been argued by different authors to fall within either ''Parahelicops'' or ''

Opisthotropis ''Opisthotropis'' is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to Southeast Asia and South China. Species The genus ''Opisthotropis'' contains the following 25 species which are recognized as being valid, listed alphabetic ...

''.Cox, Merel J. (1995). "''Opisthotrophis boonsongi'' ". ''Herpetological Review'' 26 (3): 157. Most recently, a 2015 study described a new genus, ''Isanophis'', to accommodate this species on the basis of morphological differences in the teeth size, eye size and placement, pupil shape, keel shape, gross body morphology, and presence of a single prefrontal scale.David, Patrick; Pauwels, Olivier S. G.; Nguyen, Truong Quang; Vogel, Gernot (2015). "On the taxonomic status of the Thai endemic freshwater snake ''Parahelicops boonsongi'', with the erection of a new genus". ''Zootaxa'' 3948 (2): 203-217. (''Isanophis'', new genus, pp. 205–206; ''Isanophis boonsongi'', new combination, pp. 206–208, Figure 1). Higher taxonomy of ''Isanophis'' is variable, with some authors recognizing Natricidae as its own family and others treating it as a subfamily (Natricinae) of the family Colubridae.

Geographic range

''I. boonsongi'' is known only from Loei Province in northeastern Thailand although it may occur in

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

, southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and Vietnam.

Conservation status

As it is only known from three specimens, ''I. boonsongi'' is treated as Data Deficient in The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Biology

''I. boonsongi'' is a

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

snake found in sub-montane forests and may be aquatic or semi-aquatic, feeding on frogs and fishes.

Etymology

The genus name ''Isanophis'' refers to Isan, a northeastern region of Thailand where it has been found, and ''ophis'' ( Greek), meaning snake. 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 ...

, ''boonsongi'', commemorates

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

zoologist and conservationist Dr. Boonsong Lekagul. Beolens B, Watkins M,

Grayson M Grayson may refer to: Places Canada * Grayson, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan United States * Grayson, California * Grayson, Georgia ** Grayson High School * Grayson, Kentucky * Grayson, Louisiana * Gray ...

(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Boonsong's Stream Snake, ''Opisthotropis boonsongi'' ", p. 31).

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q28319645, from2=Q28319651, from3=Q2381138 Natricinae Snakes of Thailand Endemic fauna of Thailand Taxa named by Edward Harrison Taylor Reptiles described in 1958 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot