Euprepiophis mandarinus

Mandarin Ratsnake
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Elaphe
Species:	E. mandarinus
Binomial name
Elaphe mandarinus (Cantor, 1842)

The Mandarin Rat Snake, Elaphe mandarina, is a species of snake found in Asia. It is a relatively small rat snake; adult size is 1 m (40 in.) or less. It is closely related to Elaphe conspicillata, the Japanese Forest Rat Snake.

Distribution

India, N. Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, S China (westward to SE Xizang = Tibet and northward to Shaanxi; Chekiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Kweichow, Sichuan; south to Wei He and Han Shui rivers, Beijing)

Type locality: China: Zhejiang, Chusan island (Cantor, 1842)

Taxonomy

In recent years there has been some taxonomic controversy over the genera of rat snakes. Based on mitochondrial DNA, Utiger et al. (2002) argued for a splintering of the genus Elaphe and suggested a reworking of the genera.^[1]

However, all published taxonomy remains a taxonomic suggestion until ruled on by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN - http://www.iczn.org/), but the body has so far not supported the change and has not addressed the taxonomic suggestion, thus the official taxonomy remains Elaphe.

Natural history

The Mandarin Rat Snake is a secretive species, often using rodent burrows for shelter. It feeds primarily on small rodents, prefers cooler temperatures, and is predominately crepuscular. It occurs from sea level to at least 3,000m.

References

1. ^ Elaphe obsoleta at The Center for North American Herpetology. Accessed 20 June 2008.

• Boulenger, George A. 1894 Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), London, xi, 382 pp.
• Cantor,T. 1842 General features of Chusan, with remarks on the flora and fauna of that island [part 1]. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) 9: 265-278
• Gumprecht, A. 2002 Elaphe mandarina (Cantor). Sauria (Suppl.) 24 (3): 565-568
• Gumprecht, A. 2003 Anmerkungen zu den Chinesischen Kletternattern der Gattung Elaphe (sensu lato) Fitzinger 1833. Reptilia (Münster) 8 (6): 37-41
• Lenk, P.; Joger, U. & Wink, M. 2001 Phylogenetic relationships among European ratsnakes of the genus Elaphe Fitzinger based on mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons. Amphibia-Reptilia 22 (3): 329-339
• Purser, P.A. 2003 Elaphe mandarinus. Reptilia (GB) (31): 30-33
• Schulz, K. D. 1996 Eine Monographie der Schlangengattung Elaphe Fitzinger. Bushmaster, Berg (CH): 1-460
• Schulz, Klaus-Dieter 1996 A monograph of the colubrid snakes of the genus Elaphe Fitzinger. Koeltz Scientific Books, 439 pp.
• Utiger, Urs, Notker Helfenberger, Beat Schätti, Catherine Schmidt, Markus Ruf and Vincent Ziswiler 2002 Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old World and New World ratsnakes, Elaphe Auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 9 (2): 105-124.

External links

• Reptile database
• http://www.xs4all.nl/~reptilia/Images/Elaphe%20mandarina.jpg
• fiche sur l'Elaphe mandarina (en français)