Ahaetulla
Overview
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s commonly referred to as vine snakes, or whip snakes. They are mildly venomous and what is commonly termed as 'rear-fanged' or more appropriately, opisthoglyphous, meaning their enlarged teeth or fangs intended to aid in venom delivery are located in the back of the upper jaw
Jaw
The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...
, instead of in the front as they are in viper
Viperidae
The Viperidae are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Australia, Ireland, Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and above the Arctic Circle. All have relatively long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom. Four...
s or cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
s.
They are found from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and much of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, including many Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
.
The taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of vine snakes is not well documented, and literature varies widely, but there are 8 commonly accepted species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the genus Ahaetulla:
- Günther's Vine Snake or Indian Bronzeback, Ahaetulla disparAhaetulla disparThe Gunther's Vine Snake Ahaetulla dispar is a species of slender tree snake found in India in the Western Ghats.-Description:Snout pointed and projecting, without dermal appendage, not quite twice as long as the eye...
(GüntherAlbert C. L. G. GüntherAlbert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....
, 1864) - Speckle-headed Whipsnake, Ahaetulla fasciolata (Fischer, 1885)
- Burmese Vine Snake, Ahaetulla fronticinctaAhaetulla fronticinctaGünther's Whipsnake or Burmese Vine Snake, Ahaetulla fronticincta is a species of tree snake found in Myanmar and neighbouring northeastern India . It is even found as high up in the southern himalayan forests.-Food:...
(GüntherAlbert C. L. G. GüntherAlbert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....
, 1858) - Malayan Green Whipsnake, Ahaetulla mycterizans (LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1758) - Long-nosed Whip Snake, Ahaetulla nasutaAhaetulla nasutaThe Green vine snake , is a slender green tree snake found in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.-Description:...
(La Cépède, 1789) - Western GhatsGhatsAs used in many parts of South Asia, the term ghat refers to a series of steps leading down to a water body, usually a holy river. In Bengali-speaking regions, this set of stairs can lead down to something as small as a pond or as large as a major river....
Bronzeback, Ahaetulla perrotetiAhaetulla perrotetiThe Bronze-headed Vine Snake Ahaetulla perroteti is a species of snake found in India in the Western Ghats. It is mainly a grassland snake.-Description:Snout obtusely pointed and projecting, without dermal appendage, not quite twice as long as the eye...
(DumérilAndré Marie Constant DumérilAndré Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...
& BibronGabriel BibronGabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...
, 1854) - Oriental Whipsnake or Asian Vine Snake, Ahaetulla prasinaAhaetulla prasinaAhaetulla prasina, commonly known as the Asian vine snake or the Oriental whipsnake, is a widespread species of tree snake found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.-Description:...
(BoieFriedrich BoieFriedrich Boie was a German scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel....
, 1827)- Ahaetulla prasina prasina (BoieFriedrich BoieFriedrich Boie was a German scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel....
, 1827) - Ahaetulla prasina medioxima Lazell, 2002
- Ahaetulla prasina preocularis (TaylorEdward Harrison TaylorEdward Harrison Taylor was an American herpetologist from Kansas.He was born in Maysville, Missouri and studied at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, graduating with a B.A. in 1912. Subsequently, he went to the Philippines, where at first he held a teacher's post in a village in central...
, 1922) - Ahaetulla prasina suluensis Gaulke, 1994
- Ahaetulla prasina prasina (Boie
- Brown-speckled Whipsnake, Ahaetulla pulverulentaAhaetulla pulverulentaBrown-speckled Whipsnake Ahaetulla pulverulenta is a species of tree snake found in the Western Ghats of India.-Description:Snout pointed, terminating in a dermal appendage which is longer than the eye, formed below by the rostral, and covered above with numerous small scales or warts; the length...
(DumérilAndré Marie Constant DumérilAndré Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...
& BibronGabriel BibronGabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...
, 1854)
All Ahaetulla species are characterized by thin, elongated bodies, with extremely long tails and a sharply triangular shaped head.
