''Plagiopholis styani'', also known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

Chinese mountain snake, is a species of

colubrid 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 ...

snake. Its type locality is Kuatun (Guadun in modern spelling: ) in Wuyishan,

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

. It is found in southern and central

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 ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and northern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. It is an uncommon species, and very rare in Taiwan. It is named after

Frederick William Styan Frederick William Styan (1858 – 15 September 1934) was an English tea merchant who spent many years in China. During his stay he obtained numerous specimens of fauna which were donated to the British Museum (Natural History). Several species such ...

, a Shanghai-based English tea merchant and ornithologist.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Plagiopholis styani'', p. 258).

Description

''Plagiopholis styani'' is a small non-venomous snake, reaching a total length (including tail) of up to . Its upper head, body and tail are red-brown, olive-brown, or green-brown, with flecks of pink or black pigment on each scale, especially for those on the flanks of body. The upper body and tail have a spotted pattern of black or light yellow. There is a dark and thick cross band on nape, reflected in its Chinese name, Fujian neck-blotched snake ().

Habitat and ecology

''Plagiopholis styani'' occurs in areas of montane and bamboo forest, including caves. It is a nocturnal snake that eats mainly earthworms and arthropods. It uses its head to burrow. Females produce clutches of 5–11 eggs in summer.

Description

Habitat and ecology

References

Further reading