Thermophis baileyi
| Thermophis baileyi | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Xenodontinae[2][3] |
| Genus: | Thermophis |
| Species: | T. baileyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Thermophis baileyi (Wall, 1907) | |
| Synonyms | |
Thermophis baileyi, also known as Bailey's snake or the hot-spring snake,[5] is a rare species of colubrid snake endemic to Tibet.
Etymology
The specific name, baileyi, is in honor of Frederick M. Bailey, a British army officer and explorer.[6]
Geographic range
T. baileyi is found only at high altitudes in the Tibetan Plateau. Originally known from near hot springs,[7][8][9] it is now known from altogether eight localities, not limited to hot springs.[2][3]
Description
Thermophis baileyi is olive green, with five series of indistinct spots dorsally, most pronounced in the forebody. It has a dusky postocular streak, and dusky posterior edges to the labials. The belly is bluish-grey, with each ventral black basally. The young are darker than adults.
Dorsal scales in 19 rows at midbody, all keeled except last row, with indistinct double apical facets. Ventrals 201-221; anal divided; subcaudals 91-111, mostly divided, but with a few entire.
Adults may attain a total length (body + tail) of 2 feet 6 inches (76 cm).[7]
Conservation status
Bailey's snake is considered vulnerable by IUCN.[1] Development of geothermal energy is a threat to some populations.[3]
Taxonomy
The existence of Bailey's snake was first announced in the scientific literature in 1907, when it was described as a new species by Frank Wall.[7][10] Wall originally classified it as Tropodinotus (=Natrix) baileyi, before it was realized that Bailey's snake did not fit in the genus Natrix. In 1953 Malnate placed it in the new genus Thermophis, designating baileyi as the type species.[8]
Habitat
Known populations include the vicinity of Chutsen Chugang Hot Springs, on the grounds of the Zhoto Terdrom / Tidro Nunnery in Maldrogongkar / Mozhugongka County, near Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region at an altitude of 4350 m. There also has been a report of Bailey's snakes near the Yangpachen/Yangbajain Hot Springs, at about the same altitude in Maldrogongkar County, Tibet Autonomous Region.
This genus of snakes lives at the highest altitude of any snake in the world.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Thermophis baileyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2007. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 1996. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 He, M.; Feng, J. C.; Liu, S. Y.; Guo, P.; Zhao, E. M. (2009). "The phylogenetic position of Thermophis (Serpentes: Colubridae), an endemic snake from the Qinghai‐Xizang Plateau, China". Journal of Natural History 43 (7–8): 479–488. doi:10.1080/00222930802389825.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huang, S.; Liu, S. Y.; Guo, P.; Zhang, Y. P.; Zhao, E. M. (2009). "What are the closest relatives of the hot-spring snakes (Colubridae, Thermophis), the relict species endemic to the Tibetan Plateau?". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 51 (3): 438–446. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.02.013. PMID 19249375.
- ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ "Hot-spring snake" is the translation of the Chinese name 温泉蛇.
- ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Thermophis baileyi, p. 14).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Wall, Frank. Some new Asian snakes. Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 1907, 17 (3): 612-618
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Malnate, Edmond V. (1953). "The taxonomic status of the Tibetan colubrid snake Natrix baileyi". Copeia 1953 (2): 92–96. JSTOR 1440132.
- ↑ Zhao E.M. Thermophis baileyi. In: E.M. Zhao, et al. Fauna Sinica, Reptilia, vol. 3, Serpentes. Science Press, Beijing, 1998: 318-320.
- ↑ 2004. Discovery of Thermophis baileyi (Wall,1907), A Snake Endemic to Xizang AR, from Litang County, Sichuan, China, 刘少英 赵尔宓 , Sichuan Journal of Zoology 23 (3): 234-235.
- ↑ Bernard Hill (narrator) (25 May 2008). "Tibet". Wild China. 13:00 minutes in. BBC. BBC Two.
External links
Hot spring snakes at Life is Short but Snakes are Long