''Lycodon rufozonatus'' is a species of snake in the family

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 native to East Asia. It is medium-sized,

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, and is considered non-venomous. Two subspecies are recognised, one of which, ''L. r. walli'', is restricted to the Ryukyu Archipelago.

Etymology

The subspecific name, ''walli'', is in honor of British herpetologist Frank Wall.

Description

''Lycodon rufozonatus'' typically grows to a total length (including tail) of around , reaching up to in extreme cases. The head is long and relatively flat, and somewhat separate from the neck. The medium-sized eyes bulge slightly and have vertical pupils. The ventral scales have a strong keel, while the

dorsal scale In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

s are only faintly keeled; the scale count is typically 17:17:15, but can be up to 21:19:17.

Geographic range

''Lycodon rufozonatus'' is found across a large part of East Asia, from the Korean Peninsula in the north (and extending just into easternmost Russia) to northern

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and Vietnam in the south; the bulk of its range in found in eastern

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 ...

. The continental populations are all placed in the

nominate 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 ...

(''L. r. rufozonatus''); a second subspecies, ''L. r. walli'', is found in the Ryukyu Archipelago of southern Japan.

Behaviour and ecology

''Lycodon rufozonatus'' lives in a wide variety of habitats; it can be found from near sea level to as high as , and is most common near

river plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s. It is usually found on the ground, but is occasionally seen swimming in streams. It is

, feeding on fish, frogs,

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s, snakes and young birds. ''D. rufozonatus'' has a generally mild disposition, curling into a spherical mass with the head hidden when approached. Individuals can, however, be unpredictable, and some will bite readily. There are very few clinical reports on the toxinology of ''D. rufozonatus'' bites, but the species appears to be non-venomous. ''L. rufozonatus'' can harbour tapeworms of the genus '' Spirometra'', and the consumption of raw meat from ''D. rufozonatus'' has led to cases of human sparganosis in Korea and Japan.

Reproduction

''L. rufozonatus 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 ...

Taxonomic history

The species was first described as "''Lycodon rufo-zonatus'' " by Theodore Edward Cantor in an 1842 paper on the fauna of "Chusan" (

Zhoushan Zhoushan , formerly romanized as Chusan, is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of H ...

) in the '' Annals and Magazine of Natural History''. (''Lycodon rufo-zonatus'', new species, p. 483). (in English and Latin). Cantor included it among the "innocuous" (not venomous) species, and described it as "Brown, with numerous transversal crimson bands; the abdominal surface pearl-coloured, spotted with black on the tail".

Common names

''L. rufozonatus'' is known by several

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 ...

s, including "Asian king snake", "banded red snake", "red banded krait", "red banded odd-toothed snake" and "red-banded snake".

References

External links

* Include
description of ''D. r. walli''
* * Snakes of Taiwan. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1152359 rufozonatus Snakes of Southeast Asia Reptiles of China Reptiles of Japan Reptiles of Laos Reptiles of Taiwan Reptiles of Vietnam Reptiles described in 1842 Reptiles of Russia Snakes of China Snakes of Vietnam Snakes of Asia