''Thamnosophis stumpffi'',
commonly known as the yellow-striped water 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
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 ...
Pseudoxyrhophiinae
The Pseudoxyrhophiidae is a Family (biology), family of Elapoidea, elapoid Lamprophiidae, snakes, found mostly in Madagascar. They were formerly placed as a subfamily of the Lamprophiidae, but have been more recently identified as a distinct fami ...
of 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 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
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 ...
.
Etymology
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 ...
, ''stumpffi'', is in honor of
Anton Stumpff who collected the
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Thamnosophis stumpffi'', p. 257).]
Geographic range
''T. stumpffi'' is found in northwestern Madagascar, including the island
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 ...
.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred 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 ...
of ''T. stumpffi'' is forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
.[
]
Reproduction
''T. stumpffi'' 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
* Boettger O (1881). "''Diagnoses reptilium et batrachiorum novorum ab ill. Antonio Stumpff in insula Nossi-Bé Madagascariensi lectorum'' ". ''Zoologischer Anzeiger'' 1881: 358–362. (''Dromicus stumpffi'', new species, p. 358). (in Latin).
* Boulenger GA (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (''Tropidonotus stumpffi'', pp. 247–248).
* Cadle JE, Ineich I (2008). "Nomenclatural status of the Malagasy snake genus ''Bibilava'' Glaw, Nagy, Franzen, and Vences, 2007: Resurrection of ''Thamnosophis'' Jan
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Num ...
and designation of a lectotype for ''Leptophis lateralis'' Duméril, Bibron
Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hir ...
, and Duméril (Serpentes: Colubridae). ''Herpetological Review'' 39 (3): 285–288. (''Thamnosophis stumpffi'', new combination).
* Glaw F, Nagy ZT, Franzen M, Vences M (2007). "Molecular phylogeny and systematics of the pseudoxyrhophiine snake genus ''Liopholidophis'' (Reptilia, Colubridae): evolution of its exceptional sexual dimorphism and descriptions of new taxa". ''Zoologica Scripta'' 36: 291–300. (''Bibilava stumpffi'', new combination).
*Glaw F, Vences M (2006). ''A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition''. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. .
Pseudoxyrhophiidae
Snakes of Africa
Reptiles of Madagascar
Endemic fauna of Madagascar
Reptiles described in 1881
{{Alethinophidia-stub