Cape wolf snake
{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Cape wolf snake
| image = Cape Wolf Snake (Lycophidion capense) (16199625893).jpg
| image_caption = At Lower Sabie, southern Kruger National Park
| image2 = Lycophidion capense.jpg
| image2_caption = Ventral aspect on an individual from Pretoria, Gauteng
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Lycophidion
| species = capense
| authority = (A. Smith, 1831)
| range_map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|from=Cape wolf snake range.map}}
| range_map_caption = IUCN range
{{leftlegend|#2d231a|Extant (resident)}}
| synonyms = *Lycodon capensis
{{small|A. Smith, 1831}}
}}
The Cape wolf snake (Lycophidion capense) is a species of oviparous,{{cite book |author=Carruthers, Vincent |title=The Wildlife of Southern Africa: A Field Guide to the Animal and Plants of the Region |publisher=Struik Publishers |location=Cape Town |year=2005 |pages=92 |isbn=1-86872-451-4 }} nonvenomous snake which occurs over a wide area of Southern, Central, and East Africa.{{GBIF |id=2457770 |taxon=Lycophidion capense (Smith, 1831) |access-date=17 March 2021}} Though docile and harmless, it may be confused with the very venomous stiletto snake.{{cite web|title=This is a Wolf... snake |url=https://www.facebook.com/bionerds.co.za/photos/a.1761360214188023.1073741828.1761354944188550/2048850788772296/?type=3&theater |website=Facebook |publisher=Bionerds.co.za |access-date=15 May 2018}}
Subspecies
The species contains three subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, L. c. capense:{{NRDB species |genus = Lycophidion | species=capense |accessdate=17 March 2021}}
- Lycophidion capense capense {{small|(A. Smith, 1831)}}
- Lycophidion capense jacksoni {{small|(Boulenger, 1893)}}
- Lycophidion capense loveridgei {{small|Laurent, 1968}}
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Lycophidion.
Description
Adults regularly reach 40 cm in length, but some grow to 64 cm. It has a flattened, tapering head and marbled eye. The brown or black lateral and dorsal scales are tipped white,{{cite web|title=Lycophidion capense (Common wolf snake, Cape wolf snake) |url= http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/reptiles/squamata/serpentes/colubridae/lycophidion_capense.htm |website= biodiversity explorer |publisher=iziko museums |access-date=15 May 2018}} while the ventral scales are all-white. Long recurved fangs are present on the upper as well as lower jaws, for which they are named.
File:Cape Wolf Snake imported from iNaturalist photo 521779 on 3 December 2024 (cropped).jpg in its stomach.]]
Diet and behaviour
They are widely distributed but prefer damp locations, with lowland forest and fynbos being preferred habitats. They feed mostly on geckos and skinks which they bite and kill by constriction. They are believed to reach an age of 15 to 20 years.
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
{{commons category|Lycophidion capense|Lycophidion capense}}
- 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. (Lycophidium capense, pp. 339–340; Lycophidium jacksoni, new species, p. 340 + Plate XXI, figure 3).
- Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-042-5}}. (Lycophidion capense, p. 76 + Plate 36).
- Smith A. 1831. "Contributions to the Natural History of South Africa, &c". South African Quarterly Journal 1 (5): 9-24. (Lycodon capensis, new species, p. 18). (in Latin and English).
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2411819}}