Spalerosophis diadema
| Diadem Snake | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Israeli subspecies, Spalerosophis diadema cliffordi, commonly called Clifford's Snake | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
| Genus: | Spalerosophis |
| Species: | S. diadema |
| Binomial name | |
| Spalerosophis diadema (Schlegel, 1837) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Coluber diadema Schlegel, 1837 | |
The diadem snake (Spalerosophis diadema) is a species of large colubrine snake.
Geographic range
It is found in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Western Pakistan, Northern India, U.S.S.R., South Turkmenistan, South Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sinai, Israel, Jordan, Syria Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Northern Sudan, Turkey, Arabia, and Oman.
The named races or subspecies are found as follows:
- Race atriceps: Pakistan
- Race cliffordi: from Morocco to Egypt and Israel
- Race schiraziana: Zagros Mts. and the region of Bushire in W Iran, eastwards to S Turkmenistan into Afghanistan and India; Pakistan
- Race diadema: Pakistan, India
Type locality: Shiraz, Iran
Description
Adults may attain a total length of 1.8 m (about 6 feet) of which about 34 cm (13½ inches) is tail. Dorsally they are pale buff or sandy grey, with a median series of dark blotches, and smaller dark spots. Ventrally they are usually uniform white, but rarely have small blackish spots.[1]
References
- ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I. London.
- Marx, H. 1959 Review of the colubrid snake genus Spalerosophis. Fieldiana Zoology 39: 347-361.
- Schlegel, H. 1837 Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. Partie Général xxviii +251 S. + Partie Descriptiv 606 S. + xvi. La Haye (J. Kips, J. HZ. et W. P. van Stockum)
