Sakishima green snake
| Sakashima Green Snake | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Ptyas |
| Species: | P. herminae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ptyas herminae (Boettger, 1895)
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
The Sakishima green snake (Ptyas herminae) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Yaeyama Islands in the southern Ryukyu Islands of Japan.[1]
Conservation Status
These snakes were listed as Near Threatened on the revised 2000 Red List of Japan,[3] but this was changed to Least Concern in a 2016 assessment.[4]
Etymology
The specific name, herminae, is in honor of Boettger's wife, Hermine Boettger.[5]
Geographic range
P. herminae is found in the Yaeyama Islands of Japan.[1]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of P. herminae is forest.[1]
Description
P. herminae may attain a total length of 58 cm (23 in), which includes a tail about 11 cm (4.3 in) long.[6] They have a pointed snout,[5] and their scales are arranged in 17 rows, and they have 17 teeth in the upper jaw, of almost equal size.[7]
Behavior
P. herminae is terrestrial.[1]
Diet
P. herminae preys upon earthworms.[1]
Reproduction
P. herminae is oviparous.[2] An adult female may lay a clutch of about eight eggs in August, which is later than other species of terrestrial snakes lay eggs in the Ryukyus.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Kidera, N.; Ota, H. (2017). "Ptyas herminae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T96251357A96251360. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T96251357A96251360.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ a b Ptyas herminae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
- ^ Ota, Hidetoshi. "Current status of the threatened amphibians and reptiles of Japan" (PDF). Population Ecology (42): 5–9.
- ^ Hidetoshi Ota (Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Yayoigaoka 6, Sanda, Hyogo 669-1546, Japan); Noriko Kidera (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan) (2016-12-10). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Ptyas herminae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived from the original on 2025-04-29.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Cyclophiops herminae, p. 122).
- ^ Boulenger (1896).
- ^ Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft.; Gesellschaft, Deutsche Zoologische (1895). Zoologischer Anzeiger. Vol. Bd.18=no.465-492 (1895). Jena: VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag. p. 269.
Further reading
- Boettger O (1895). "Neue Frösche und Schlangen von den Liukiu-Inseln ". Zoologischer Anzeiger 18: 266–270. (Ablabes herminae, new species, p. 269). (in German).
- Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates IXXV. ("Ablabes herminæ", p. 643).
- Figueroa A, McKelvy AD, Grismer LL, Bell CD, Lailvaux SP (2016). "A Species-Level Phylogeny of Extant Snakes with Description of a new Colubrid Subfamily and Genus". PLoS ONE 11 (9): e0161070. (Ptyas herminae, new combination).
- Goris, Richard C; Maeda, Norio (2004). Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Japan. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 285 pp. ISBN 978-1575240855.
- Stejneger L (1907). Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory. United States National Museum Bulletin 58. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xx + 577 pp. (Liopeltis herminæ, new combination, pp. 343–344, Figures 296–297).