Xenopeltis hainanensis

Taxobox
name = "Xenopeltis hainanensis"‎
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
subphylum = Vertebrata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Serpentes
familia = Xenopeltidae
genus = "Xenopeltis"
species = "X. hainanensis"
binomial = "Xenopeltis hainanensis"
synonyms = "Xenopeltis hainanensis jidamingae" - Zhao 1995
binomial_authority = Hu & Zhao, 1972

:"Common names: sunbeam snake.Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.] ""Xenopeltis hainanensis" is a non-venomous sunbeam snake species found in China and Vietnam. This is a primitive snake known for its highly iridescent scales. No subspecies are currently recognized.ITIS|ID=209610|taxon="Xenopeltis hainanensis"|year=2008|date=19 September]

Description

This snake grows to an average of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in). A fossorial species, the head is wedge-shaped and narrow with little neck delineation, which makes it easy to push through the soil. Its most defining characteristic is its iridescent, highly polished scales that give this snake its common name. They have a layer of dark pigmentation just below the surface on each scale that enhances the iridescence. This is a primitive form of snake with both boid and python characteristics; which family it belongs to is still a matter of debate.

Geographic range

Xenopeltis hainanensis is found in "isolated pockets" [cite web | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/573730/sunbeam-snake | title=Encyclopedia Britannica entry on sunbeam snakes | year=2008 | accessdate=2008-09-18] of southeastern China (from Guangxi east to Zhejiang and south to Hainan) and northern Vietnam [cite web | url=http://www.zoo.utoronto.ca/drbob/PDFs%20of%20papers/2000%20Orlov%20TDao%20Snakes.pdf | title=LIST OF SNAKES OF TAM-DAO MOUNTAIN RIDGE (TONKIN, VIETNAM) | publisher=Russian Journal of Herpetology | author=Nikolai L. Orlov, Robert W. Murphy, and Theodore J. Papenfuss | pages=Volume 7, No 1, 69--80 | year=2000] . The type locality given is Zhejiang Province, China.

Habitat

This snake tends to live on forest slopes, at heights between 900 and 1100 metres above sea level.

Behavior

These snakes are non-venomous constrictors, killing their prey by suffocation in their muscular coils. They are fossorial and spend most of their time below ground.

Feeding

The diet is varied, consisting primarily of frogs, reptiles, including other snakes, and small mammals. The young look very similar to the adults, except that they have a strong white "collar" of scales evident just below the head. This coloration fades within the first year.

Reproduction

This species of snake is ovoviviparous, with females laying up to 10 eggs at a time.

ee also

*
*

References

External links

*
* [http://www.zoo.utoronto.ca/drbob/Snakes/Xenopeltis_hainanensis.html Picture] of this species of snake