Achalinus

Achalinus
Formosa odd-scaled snake, Achalinus f. formosanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Xenodermatidae
Genus: Achalinus
Peters, 1869[1]

Achalinus (common name: odd-scaled snakes[2]) is a genus of harmless snakes in the family Xenodermatidae. They are found in Japan, Taiwan, China, and northern Vietnam. Nine species are currently recognized.[3][1] Achalinus was previously placed in Colubridae (along with other xenodermatids).[4] (If anyone knows why exactly they are "odd"-scaled, please add that information to this section.)

Species

Species[3] Taxon author[3] Subsp.*[3] Common name[3] Geographic range[3][1]
A. ater Bourret 1937 0 Bourret's odd-scaled snake Northern Vietnam and China in Guizhou and Guangxi
A. formosanus Boulenger 1908 1 Formosa odd-scaled snake Taiwan and Japan in the southern Ryukyu islands
A. hainanus Huang 1975 0 Hainan odd-scaled snake China on Hainan island
A. jinggangensis (Zong & Ma 1983) 0 Zong's odd-scaled snake China in Jiangxi
A. meiguensis Hu & Zhao 1966 0 Szechwan odd-scaled snake China in western Sichuan at elevations of 1200–1400 m
A. niger Maki 1931 0 Black odd-scaled snake Taiwan
A. rufescens Boulenger 1888 0 Boulenger's odd-scaled snake Northern Vietnam and China in Hong Kong, Hainan and west to Guizhou, Shaanxi, Guangdong and Fujian
A. spinalis Peters 1869 0 Peters' odd-scaled snake Northern Vietnam, Japan (Kyūshū, Honshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Koshiki, Tokuno-shima: Kametoku and Inokawa), and central China (east to Fujian, west to Yunnan and Sichuan, and north to Gansu and Shaanxi. Also in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Hubei) at an elevation of 1,230 m
A. werneri Van Denburgh 1912 0 Amami odd-scaled snake Japan in the central Ryukyu islands

*) Not including the nominate subspecies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Van Wallach; Kenneth L. Williams; Jeff Boundy (22 April 2014). Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. CRC Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-1-4822-0848-1.
  2. ↑ Durso, Andrew (23 February 2016). "Dragonsnakes and Filesnakes Revisited". Life is Short, but Snakes are Long. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Achalinus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 27 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Durso, Andrew (28 May 2013). "Basics of Snake Taxonomy". Life is Short, but Snakes are Long. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
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