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Trachischium

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Trachischium
Trachischium tenuiceps (yellowbelly worm-eating snake)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Natricinae
Genus: Trachischium
Günther, 1858

Trachischium is a genus of snakes, known commonly as slender snakes or worm-eating snakes, in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae.[1] The genus is endemic to Asia.

Geographic range

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Species of the genus Trachischium are found through montane regions of the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal.

Description

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Snakes of the genus Trachischium exhibit the following characters: head not distinct from neck; eye small, with vertically subelliptic pupil; nostril between two small nasals; prefrontals sometimes united; body cylindrical; dorsal scales smooth, in 13 or 15 rows, without apical pits; ventrals rounded; tail short; subcaudals divided; maxillary teeth 18–20, subequal; posterior mandibular teeth shorter than anterior; hypapophyses developed throughout vertebral column.[2]

Species

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There are 7 species in the genus Trachischium which 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 Trachischium.

References

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  1. ^ a b Trachischium at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 October 2018.
  2. ^ Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Genus Trachischium, p. 297).

Further reading

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  • Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Genus Trachischium, p. 284).
  • Günther A (1858). Catalogue of Colubrine Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xvi + 281 pp. (Trachischium, new genus, p. 30).
  • Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Genus Trachischium, p. 321).