The Tokara habu (''Protobothrops tokarensis'')
[Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, ]Captain A
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . is a
venomous pit viper
The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subfa ...
species endemic to the
Tokara Islands of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. No
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 ...
are currently recognized.
Description
Scalation includes 31 (31-33) rows of
dorsal scales at midbody, 199-210
ventral scales, 72-84
subcaudal scales
In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...
, and 8 (7-9)
supralabial scales
In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...
.
Geographic range
Found in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
on the islands of
Takara-jima
, literally "treasure island", is one of the Tokara Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture. The island, 7.14 km² in area, has a population of 116 persons. The island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport; there is regular ferry ...
and Kotakara-jima. According to Golay ''et al.'' (1993), the
type locality is "Takara-jima, province of
Kagoshima,
Ryukyu Islands".
See also
*
Snakebite
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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