''Lycodon cardamomensis'', also known as the Cardamom Mountains wolf snake, is a species of nonvenomous

colubrid 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 ...

snake found in south-western Cambodia and eastern Thailand.

Etymology

''Lycodon cardamomensis'' is named for the

Cardamom hills The Cardamom Hills or Yela Mala are mountain range of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in Idukki district, Kerala, India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills' cool elevation, w ...

in south-western

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, the region from which the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected.

Description

The head of the snake is clearly differentiated from the neck, and flattened slightly. The nose protrudes beyond the lower jaw. The eyes are vertical ellipses. The body is rounded above, and flat on the belly. A

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 seve ...

for the species had a snout-to-vent length of 25.2 centimeters, and a tail-length of 6.4 centimeters, giving it a total length of 31.6 centimeters. The body of the snake is black on the back and tail, with 12 white stripes across the back and six across the tail. The stripes are 3-5 scales wide along the top, widening to 5-9 scales on the sides. The first two bands are completely black, while the rest have black speckles on them. The top of the head is black with lighter markings, while the underside of the head and body is white.

Reproduction

''Lycodon cardamomensis'' 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), a ...

, or egg-laying.

Phylogeny

''Lycodon cardamomensis'' is a member of the genus ''

Lycodon ''Lycodon'' is a genus of colubrid snakes, commonly known as wolf snakes. The New Latin name ''Lycodon'' is derived from the Greek words λύκος (''lykos'') meaning wolf and οδόν (''odon'') meaning tooth, and refers to the fang-like ant ...

'', a genus of snakes commonly known as wolf snakes. The genus belongs to the snake 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 ev ...

, the largest snake family, with member species being found on every continent except Antarctica.

Habitat & ecology

''L. cardamomensis'' is a terrestrial

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

species, which has been observed in both primary and secondary forest. It has been observed at altitudes of between 500 and 700 meters above sea level.

Distribution

''L. cardamomensis'' has been observed in Pursat Province of Cambodia, as well as in

Eastern Thailand Eastern Thailand is a region of Thailand bordering Cambodia on the east, Northeastern Thailand in the north, and central Thailand on the west. Geography Eastern Thailand lies between the Sankamphaeng Range, which forms a natural border with th ...

. It is thought to be

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 els ...

to the Cardamom Hills of that region. Erroneous records exist from the highlands of Vietnam, as well as some records from the same region that have yet to be verified.

Conservation

The range of the species overlaps with the protected area of the

Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in western Cambodia, bordering Thailand. The sanctuary was established in 1993 and covers . It is also designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary is located i ...

, but no species-specific conservation measures exist. The species might be under threat from logging and

forest degradation Forest degradation is a process in which the biological wealth of a forest area is permanently diminished by some factor or by a combination of factors. "This does not involve a reduction of the forest area, but rather a quality decrease in its c ...

in its range, as well as from hunting by individuals who mistake it for the venomous

Malayan krait ''Bungarus candidus'', commonly known as the Malayan krait or blue krait, is a highly venomous species of snake. The blue krait is a member of the genus '' Bungarus'' and the family Elapidae. Description The Malayan krait may attain a total l ...

; however, the impacts of these potential threats are currently unknown. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

lists it as "Data deficient" due to the small number of specimens observed, and the lack of knowledge of its response to logging and hunting.

References

External links

Lycodon cardamomensis
at the

Reptile database The Reptile Database is a scientific database that collects taxonomic information on all living reptile species (i.e. no fossil species such as dinosaurs). The database focuses on species (as opposed to higher ranks such as families) and has entri ...

Image at flickr.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3018309 capucinus Reptiles described in 2002 Snakes of Southeast Asia Reptiles of Cambodia Reptiles of Thailand