Lycophidion

Lycophidion
Lycophidion variegatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Lamprophiidae
Subfamily: Lamprophiinae
Genus: Lycophidion
Fitzinger, 1843
Species

20 species, see text.

Lycophidion is a genus of nonvenomous lamprophiid snakes commonly referred to as the wolf snakes.

Lycophidion capense, cape wolf snake, Waterberg, Limpopo.

As of 2015 there are 20 recognized species in the genus.[1]

Description and behavior

Wolf snakes are small snakes which forage at night for sleeping lizards.[2] They have flat heads and large recurved teeth that are assumed to aid them in their extraction of lizards from their lairs.[3]

Reproduction

All species in the genus Lycophidion are oviparous and lay between 3 and 10 eggs.[3]

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.[1]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Lycophidion.

References

  1. 1 2 Uetz, Peter. "Search results - Lycophidion". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  2. Marais, Johan (2004). A complete guide to the snakes of southern Africa (New ed.). Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 978-1868729326.
  3. 1 2 Marais, Graham Alexander & Johan (2007). Field guide to reptiles of Southern Africa (3. impression. ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 94. ISBN 9781770073869. Retrieved 21 September 2015.

Further reading


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, September 27, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.