- Lytorhynchus paradoxus
Taxobox | name = Sind Longnose Sand Snake
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Reptilia
ordo =Squamata
subordo =Serpentes
familia =Colubridae
genus = "Lytorhynchus "
species = "L. paradoxus"
binomial = "Lytorhynchus paradoxus"
binomial_authority = (Günther, 1875)Sind Longnose Sand Snake "(Lytorhynchus paradoxus)" is a species of snake found in the desert areas of
Pakistan andIndia (Rajasthan ).Description
Maxillary teeth 6 to 9 posterior much longer than anterior; mandibular teeth subequal. Head slightly distinct from neck, with cuneiform projecting snout; eye moderate, pupil vertically elliptical; rostral large, four-sided, projecting, concave inferiorly; nostril an oblique slit between two nasals. Body elongate, cylindrical; scales smooth, without apical pits, in 19 rows; ventrals obtusely angulate laterally; tail moderate; subcaudals in two rows. Distribution. Three species are known in the genus "L. diadema", ranging from Algeria to Persia; "L. ridgewayi", Blgr., from Afghanistan and Turkestan; and "L. paradoxus" from Sind. Desert snakes, adapted for burrowing in the sand.
Snout long and acutely pointed; rostral with a lateral deft; suture between the internasals shorter than that between the pre-frontals and shorter than the upper part of the rostral; frontal nearly as long as its distance from the end of the snout, as long as the parietals: supraocular narrow; three preoculars; two post-oculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3; upper labials 8, fifth entering the eye; 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are shorter but much broader than the posterior. Scales in 19 rows. Ventrals slightly angulate laterally, 169-175; anal divided; sub-caudals 40-53. Cream-colour above, with a dorsal series of transverse brown spots and a less distinct lateral series of smaller spots on each side; a large rhomboidal brown spot on the back of the head, and a brown band behind the eye; lower parts white.Total length of 14 inches; tail 2-3. [Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp.]
Notes
References
* Bhide, K., A. Captain & D. Khandal 2004 First record of "Lytorhynchus paradoxus" (Günther, 1875) from the Republic of India, with notes on its distribution. Hamadryad 28 (1&2): 123-127
* Günther,A. 1875 Second report on collections of Indian Reptiles obtained bv the British Museum. Proc. Zool. Soc. London,1875: 224-234.
* Murray, J. A. 1884 Additions to the reptilian fauna of Sind. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5)14:106-111.External links
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Lytorhynchus_paradoxus.jpg
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