The Mograbin diadem snake (''Spalerosophis dolichospilus''), also known
commonly as Werner's diadem snake, is a
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 ...
of
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
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 ...
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
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 northwestern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
Geographic range
''Spalerosophis dolichospilus'' is found in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, and
Tunisia
)
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, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.
Habitat
The natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s of ''S. dolichospilus'' are
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
or
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
, dry
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
, rocky areas,
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
, and
pastureland
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...
.
Etymology
The common name, Mograbin diadem snake, is derived from "
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
", meaning "west" in Arabic.
Description
''Spalerosophis dolichospilus'' is usually about in total length (including tail), but can reach . It is orange with circular spots of reddish or greenish brown.
[
]
Behavior
''Spalerosophis dolichospilus'' is very agile and can move quickly over rocky substrates.
Reproduction
''Spalerosophis dolichospilus'' 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
* Pasteur G (1967). "''Un serpent endémique du Maghreb: ''Spalerosophis dolichospilus'' (Werner), Colubridé'' ". ''Bulletin du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, Séries seconde'' 39 (3): 444–451. (''Spalerosophis dolichospilus'', new status). (in French).
* Schmidt KP (1930). "Reptiles of Marshall Field North Arabian Desert Expeditions, 1927–1928". ''Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series'' 17 (6): 221-230 + Plate II. (''Spalerosophis diadema dolichospila'', new combination, p. 226).
* Werner F (1923). "''Neue Schlangen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien'' ". ''Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien'' 36: 160–166. (''Zamenis diadema'' var. ''dolichospila'', new variety, p. 166). (in German).
*Werner F (1929). "''Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer zoologischen Forschungsreise nach Westalgerien und Marokko'' ". ''Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaft in Wien, mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Klasse'' 138: 1-34 + Plates I-IV. (''Coluber diadema dolichospila'', new combination and new status, p. 7 + Plate IV, figure 7). (in German).
External links
Algerian Postage Stamp
depicting Mograbin Diadem Snake
Spalerosophis
Snakes of Africa
Reptiles of North Africa
Taxa named by Franz Werner
Reptiles described in 1923
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Colubrids-stub