Lycodon bicolor
{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Two-coloured wolf snake.jpg
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Lycodon
| species = bicolor
| authority = (Nikolsky, 1903)
| synonyms = *Contia bicolor
{{small|Nikolsky, 1903}}
- Lycodon mackinnoni
{{small|Wall, 1906}} - Ophites mackinnoni
{{small|(Wall, 1906)}}
| synonyms_ref = {{EMBL species|genus=Lycodon|species=bicolor}}. www.reptile-database.org.
}}
Lycodon bicolor, commonly known as the two-coloured wolf snake, bicolored wolf snake, golden wolf snake, and Mackinnon's wolf snake, is a species of colubrid snake native to the Western Himalayas.
Distribution
Lycodon bicolor is restricted to the western Himalayas, ranging from Uttarakhand in India east through Jammu & Kashmir to POK in Pakistan. It was originally described from Mussoorie, but was not found again at its type locality for over 112 years until it was rediscovered in 2019 during survey work in Binog Wildlife Sanctuary; these findings were reported in 2021. As Mussoorie is a major tourist destination, L. bicolor may be threatened by vehicular traffic, pollution, and other tourism-related activities near the sanctuary; due to this, a detailed status survey and further research into the species are required.Wall (1906).{{Cite journal|last1=Nawani|first1=Swati|author1-link=species:Swati Nawani|last2=Deepak|first2=V.|author2-link=species:Veerappan Deepak|last3=Gautam|first3=Kumudani Bala|author3-link=species:Kumudani Bala Gautam|last4=Gupta|first4=Sandeep Kumar|author4-link=species:Sandeep Kumar Gupta|last5=Boruah|first5=Bitupan|author5-link=species:Bitupan Boruah|last6=Das|first6=Abhijit|date=2021-05-04|title=Systematic status of the rare Himalayan wolf snake Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906 (Serpentes: Colubridae)|url=https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4966.3.3|journal=Zootaxa|language=en|volume=4966|issue=3|pages=305–320|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4966.3.3|pmid=34186615 |s2cid=235509432 |issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription}}
Description
Adults may attain a total length of {{convert|36.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}, which includes a tail {{convert|6.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} long. Dorsally, it is brown, with a network of white lines. Ventrally, it is uniformly white, or white with brown-edged ventrals. The dorsal scales are smooth, and are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. The anal plate is divided.Smith MA (1943).
Habitat
Reproduction
Lycodon bicolor is oviparous.
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Lanza B (1999). "A new species of Lycodon from the Philippines, with a key to the genus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae)". Tropical Zoology 12: 89–104.
- {{cite journal |last1=Nikolsky |first1=A. |author1-link=Alexander Nikolsky |title=Sur trois nouvelles espèces de reptiles, recueillis par Mr. N. Zarudny dans la Perse orientale in 1901 |journal=Annuaire Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Impériale de Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg |date=1903 |volume=8 |pages=95–98}} (Contia bicolor, new species). (in French).
- 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. (Lycodon mackinnoni, p. 263).
- Wall F (1906). "A New Himalayan Snake (Lycodon mackinnoni )". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 17: 29–30.
- Wall F (1923). "A Hand-list of the Snakes of the Indian Empire. Part 2". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 29 (3): 598–632. (Ophites mackinnoni, p. 614).
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2712457}}
Category:Reptiles described in 1903
Category:Taxa named by Alexander Nikolsky
{{Colubrinae-stub}}