''Pararhadinaea'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus of snakes 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 ...

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 only species is ''Pararhadinaea melanogaster'', sometimes known as the Madagascar burrowing snake. It 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 ...

to the island of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Description

It is a small snake with a maximum recorded size of less than 30 centimeters. The color pattern consists of a pale golden-brown ground color with a series of dark-brown and cream

parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of IBM ...

longitudinal stripes. The ventral scales are very dark, almost black. The smooth scales show a strong green-blue

iridescence Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

. One

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

(''P. melanogaster marojejyensis'') is currently recognized.

Geographic range

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 ...

. Occurs in the northern parts of the island. The type locality is

Nosy Be Nosy Be (formerly Nossi-bé and Nosse Be) is an island off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest tourist resort. It has an area of , and its population was 109,465 according to the provisional results of t ...

. The single known

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

of the subspecies, ''P. melanogaster marojejyensis'', was collected from the

Marojejy National Park Marojejy National Park () is a national park in the Sava region of northeastern Madagascar. It covers and is centered on the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain that rises to an elevation of . Access to the area around the massif was restricted ...

Habitat

The species has only been found within forested habitats including both

Madagascar dry deciduous forests The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agric ...

and

Madagascar lowland forests The Madagascar lowland forests or Madagascar humid forests are a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion found on the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar, home to a plant and animal mix th ...

at a few localities including Nosy Be,

Ankarana Special Reserve Ankarana Special Reserve in northern Madagascar was created in 1956. It is a small, partially vegetated plateau composed of 150-million-year-old middle Jurassic limestone. With an average annual rainfall of about , the underlying rocks have been e ...

, and Daraina Conservation Site and some unprotected forest fragments near the village of Tsarakibany.

Conservation status

''Pararhadinaea melanogaster'' is listed as Vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

because "its extent of occurrence is less than 6,500 km², it is presently known from only seven locations, and there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its forest habitat resulting from agricultural conversion". It is considered a rare species as, since its discovery, only nine specimens have been officially recorded.

Behaviour

Almost nothing is known of the behaviour of this species. It is very secretive and seems to spend most of the day hiding amongst leaf litter, under logs and possibly even below the ground.

Feeding

The diet is likely to consist of small

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

Reproduction

Nothing is known of the breeding behaviour of this species. It is presumed to lay eggs.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q925008 Reptiles described in 1898 Pseudoxyrhophiidae Taxa named by Oskar Boettger Endemic fauna of Madagascar Reptiles of Madagascar Monotypic snake genera