Lytorhynchus paradoxus
| Sind Longnose Sand Snake | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Lytorhynchus |
| Species: | L. paradoxus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lytorhynchus paradoxus (Günther, 1875) | |
Sind Longnose Sand Snake (Lytorhynchus paradoxus) is a species of snake found in the desert areas of Pakistan and India (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.[1]
Notes
- ↑ Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp.
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.
