''Lycodon rufozonatus'' 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 ...

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Colubridae. The species is native to

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

. It is medium-sized, nocturnal, and is considered non-venomous. Two subspecies are recognised, one of which, ''L. r. walli'', is restricted to the

Ryukyu Archipelago The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara, Amami Islands, Amami, Okinawa Islands, Okinawa, and Sakis ...

Etymology

The

subspecific name In zoological nomenclature, a subspecific name is the third part of a trinomen. In zoology there is only one rank below that of species, namely "subspecies". In botanical nomenclature, there are several levels of subspecific names, such as ''var ...

, ''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

pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the Iris (anatomy), iris of the Human eye, eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing ...

s. The ventral scales have a strong keel, while the dorsal scales 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

, from the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in the north (and extending just into easternmost

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

) to northern Laos and

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 ...

in the south; the bulk of its range in found in eastern China. The continental populations are all placed in the nominate subspecies (''L. r. rufozonatus''); a second subspecies, ''L. r. walli'', is found in the

of southern Japan.

Behaviour and ecology

''Lycodon rufozonatus'' lives in a wide variety of

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; 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 nocturnal, feeding on

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s, lizards,

s and young

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s. ''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 A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1 ...

of ''D. rufozonatus'' bites, but the species appears to be non-venomous. ''L. rufozonatus'' can harbour

tapeworm Eucestoda, commonly referred to as tapeworms, is the larger of the two subclasses of flatworms in the class Cestoda (the other subclass is Cestodaria). Larvae have six posterior hooks on the scolex (head), in contrast to the ten-hooked Cesto ...

s of the genus ''

Spirometra ''Spirometra'' is a genus of pseudophyllid cestodes that reproduce in canines and felines, but can also cause pathology in humans if infected. As an adult, this tapeworm lives in the small intestine of its definitive host and produces eggs th ...

'', and the consumption of raw meat from ''D. rufozonatus'' has led to cases of human

sparganosis Sparganosis is a parasitic infection caused by the plerocercoid larvae of the genus '' Spirometra'' including ''S. mansoni'', ''S. ranarum'', ''S. mansonoides'' and ''S. erinacei''.John, D.T. and Petri, W.A. Markell and Voge's Medical Parasitol ...

in Korea and Japan.

Reproduction

''L. rufozonatus is oviparous.

Taxonomic history

The species was first described as "''Lycodon rufo-zonatus'' " by

Theodore Edward Cantor Theodore Edward (Theodor Edvard) Cantor (1809–1860) was a Danish physician, zoologist and botanist. Born to a Danish Jewish family, his mother was a sister of Nathaniel Wallich. Cantor worked for the British East India Company, and made natur ...

in an 1842 paper on the fauna of "Chusan" ( Zhoushan, China) in the ''

Annals and Magazine of Natural History The ''Journal of Natural History'' is a scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis focusing on entomology and zoology. The journal was established in 1841 under the name ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' (''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'') an ...

''. (''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 names, 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