Genus of snakes
Archelaphe is a genus of snake in the family Colubridae. The genus contains the sole species Archelaphe bella, commonly known as the Bella rat snake, which is endemic to Asia.[3]
Geographic range
A. bella is found in China, India, Myanmar, and Vietnam.[3]
Description
The dorsal pattern of A. bella resembles that of the North American corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus).[3] The longest specimen of A. bella measured by M.A. Smith (1943) was a male with a total length of 81 cm (32 in) which included a tail 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long.
Reproduction
A. bella is oviparous.[3]
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[3]
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Archelaphe.
References
Further reading
- Bourret RN (1934). "Notes herpétologiques sur l'Indochine Française II. Sur quelques serpents des montagnes du Tonkin ". Bulletin Général de l'Instruction Publique, Hanoi 1934: 149–157. (Elaphe leonardi chapaensis, new subspecies). (in French).
- Orlov, Nikolai L. [fr]; Ryabov, Sergey A.; Nguyen, Thien Tao; Nguyen, Truong Quang (2010). "Rediscovery and Redescription of Two Rare Snake Species: Oligodon lacroixi Angel et Bourret, 1933 and Maculophis bellus chapaensis (Bourret, 1934) [Squamata: Ophidia: Colubridae] from Fansipan Mountains, Northern Vietnam". Russian Journal of Herpetology 17 (4): 310–322.
- Schulz, Klaus-Dieter; Böhme, Wolfgang [de]; Tillack, Frank (2011). "Hemipenis Morphology of Coronella bella Stanley, 1917 with Comments on Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Issues of Ratsnakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Colubrinae: Elaphe auct.)". Russian Journal of Herpetology 18 (4): 273–283. (Archelaphe, new genus).
- 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. (Elaphe leonardi, pp. 156–157).
- Stanley, Arthur (1917). "Two new species of Chinese snakes". Journal of the North-China Branch Royal Asiatic Society, Shanghai 47: 83–84. (Coronella bella, new species).
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