The Tokara habu (''Protobothrops tokarensis'')
[Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. .] is a
venomous
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
pit viper 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 ...
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 else ...
to the
Tokara Islands
The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are part of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain consists of twelve small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima. The islands have a tota ...
of
Japan. No
subspecies are currently recognized.
Description
Scalation includes 31 (31-33) rows of
dorsal scales
In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales
In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down t ...
at midbody, 199-210
ventral scales
In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...
, 72-84
subcaudal scales, and 8 (7-9)
supralabial scales.
Geographic range
Found in
Japan on the islands of
Takara-jima and Kotakara-jima. According to Golay ''et al.'' (1993), the
type locality is "Takara-jima, province of
Kagoshima
, abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
,
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...
".
See also
*
Snakebite
A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may occu ...
References
Further reading
*Nagai, Kamehiko. 1928. ''Tokara-Habu & Erabu-unagi''. Kagoshimaken Hakubutsu-Chosa (Report on the Natural History of the Province of Kagoshima - Society for the Education and Survey of the Kagoshima Prefecture) 3: 1-64. (''Trimeresurus tokarensis'', p. 6.
National Diet Library Digital Collections
External links
*
tokarensis
Reptiles of Japan
Reptiles described in 1928
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