Mimophis mahfalensis

Mimophis mahfalensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Psammophiidae
Genus: Mimophis
Species:
M. mahfalensis
Binomial name
Mimophis mahfalensis
(Grandidier, 1867)
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Psammophis mahfalensis Grandidier, 1867

Mimophis mahfalensis, also known as the common big-eyed snake,[3] is a species of snake in the family Psammophiidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar[1][2] and occurs in the central and southern parts of the island. What had been considered a northern population has been split off as a separate species, Mimophis occultus.[2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid.[2]

  • Mimophis mahfalensis mahfalensis (Grandidier, 1867)
  • Mimophis mahfalensis madagascariensis Günther, 1868

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Mimophis.

Description

M. mahfalensis may attain a total length of 76 cm (30 in), including a tail length of 19.5 cm (7.7 in).[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of M. mahfalensis are forest, savanna, and shrubland, and it has also been found in disturbed and artificial habitats.[1]

Diet

M. mahfalensis preys upon frogs, lizards, and snakes.[1]

Reproduction

M. mahfalensis is oviparous.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Vences, M. (2011). "Mimophis mahfalensis ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T172997A6955260. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T172997A6955260.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Mimophis mahfalensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 11 December 2018.
  3. ^ Rosa, Gonçalo M.; Castelo Branco, João; Couto, Henrique; Eusebio Bergò, Paolo; Andreone, Franco (2016). "Mimophis mahfalensis (common big-eyed snake) predation on Furcifer major (giant carpet chameleon) in Isalo, Madagascar". The Herpetological Bulletin (138): 40–41.
  4. ^ 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 I–XXV. (Mimophis mahfalensis, p. 171–172).

Further reading

  • Aprea G, Odierna G, Andreone F, Glaw F, Vences M (2003). "Unusual karyotype in the Malagasy colubrid snake Mimophis mahfalensis ". Amphibia-Reptilia 24 (2): 215–219.
  • Glaw F, Vences M (2006). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. ISBN 978-3929449-03-7.
  • Grandidier A (1867). "Liste des reptiles nouveaux découverts, en 1866, sur la côte sud-ouest de Madagascar ". Revue et Magazine de Zoologie (Paris), 2e Série 19: 232–234. (Psammophis mahfalensis, new species, p. 234. (in French and Latin).
  • Günther A (1868). "Sixth Account of new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fourth Series 1 (6): 413–429 + Plates XVII–XIX. (Mimophis madagascariensis, new species, pp. 421–422 + Plate XVIII).



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