Biology:Ahaetulla isabellina
| Wall's vine snake | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Ahaetulla |
| Species: | A. isabellina
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ahaetulla isabellina (Wall, 1910)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Dryophis mycterizans isabellinus Wall, 1910 | |
Ahaetulla isabellina,[1][2] also known as Wall's vine snake,[3] is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India .[1][2][3][4]
Taxonomy
It was formerly considered a subspecies of A. nasuta, which is now considered to only be endemic to Sri Lanka. A 2020 study found A. nasuta to be a species complex of A. nasuta sensu stricto as well as A. borealis, A. farnsworthi, A. isabellina, and A. malabarica, elevating A. isabellina to species. The specific epithet is a reference to the isabelline yellow coloration of the species' dorsal body in live condition, which distinguishes it from other species in the complex.[2]
Geographic range
This species is distributed in the southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala south of the Palghat Gap, from the Anaimalai Hills south to Kalakkad reserve forest area, although more work is needed to determine the southern limit of the species' range.[2]
Habitat
This species is found in evergreen forests of the Western Ghats from ~550 m to 1475 above sea level.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ahaetulla isabellina at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 October 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Srikanthan, Achyuthan N.; Pal, Saunak P.; D’souza, Princia Margaret; Shanker, Kartik; Ganesh, Sumaithangi Rajagopalan (2020-11-06). "Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India" (in en). Zootaxa 4874 (1): 1–62. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4874.1.1. PMID 33311335. https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4874.1.1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The discovery of five new species of vine snakes in India" (in en). https://phys.org/news/2020-11-discovery-species-vine-snakes-india.html.
- ↑ Staff Reporter (2020-11-14). "New species of vine snakes discovered" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/new-species-of-vine-snakes-discovered/article33097126.ece.
Wikidata ☰ Q102109396 entry
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