Rhabdophis subminiatus

Rhabdophis subminiatus
Rhabdophis subminiatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Natricinae
Genus: Rhabdophis
Species: R. subminiatus
Binomial name
Rhabdophis subminiatus
(Schlegel, 1837)
Synonyms

Tropidonotus subminiatus Schlegel, 1837
Amphiesma subminiatum Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
Natrix subminiata Barbour, 1912
Rhabdophis subminiatus Bourret, 1936

The red-necked keelback (Rhabdophis subminiatus) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae.

Description

The snake has a greenish hue with red and yellow regions near the head. It grows to 70 to 90 cm (27.5 to 35.5 in) in length.

Habitat and behavior

It generally lives near ponds, where it consumes frogs and fish.

Venom

Rhabdophis subminiatus is a rear-fanged species and was previously thought to be harmless. However, following one fatal and several near-fatal envenomations, the toxicity of its venom was investigated. As a result, it has recently been reclassified as a dangerous species. These snakes need to bite and hold on, or, repeatedly bite to have any effect on humans as they are considered rear-fanged. Meaning a chewing action facilitates envenomation as the venom ducts open to fangs that are posterior in the oral cavity.

Distribution

The red-necked keelback can be found in the following areas of the world:

The keelback of the race 'helleri' can be found in the following locations:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhabdophis subminiatus.

References

  1. ↑ "Rhabdophis subminiatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.