Banded racer

The banded racer (Argyrogena fasciolata) is a species of colubrid snake, the genus Argyrogena.

Banded racer
Wild specimen from Maharashtra, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Argyrogena
Species:
A. fasciolata
Binomial name
Argyrogena fasciolata
(Shaw, 1802)
Synonyms
  • Coluber fasciolatus Shaw, 1802
  • Coluber hebe Daudin, 1803
  • Coluber curvirostris Cantor, 1839
  • Coryphodon fasciolatus Günther, 1858
  • Tyria fasciolata Cope, 1862
  • Zamenis fasciolatus Günther, 1864
  • Argyrogena rostrata Werner, 1924
  • Argyrogena fasciolata Wilson, 1967[1][2]

Geographic range

It is found in India except for North Bengal and Kashmir,[3] Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Description

Snout obtuse, curved and prominent; rostral large, broader than wide, the portion visible from above more than half its length from the frontal; suture between the internasals as long as that between the prefrontals or a little shorter; frontal nearly as long as its distance from the end of the snout, or as the parietals; loreal as long as deep or longer than deep; one pre-ocular, usually with a small subocular below; two or three postoculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3; upper labials 8, fourth and fifth entering the eye; 4 or 5 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields; posterior chin-shields nearly as long as the anterior, separated from each other by two or three series of scales. Dorsals smooth, in 21 or 23 rows. Ventrals 197-225; anal divided; subcaudals 73–88. Yellowish or brownish olive above, with narrow white, brown, and black variegated cross bands on the anterior half of the body; these bands may entirely disappear in the adult; lower parts uniform yellowish.[4]

Total length 1060 mm (3.5 feet); tail 220 mm (8.5 inches).

Shaw's original description of the species was based on a plate in Russell, Ind. Serp. (1796).

Notes

  1. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I. London.
  3. "Argyrogena fasciolata (Shaw, 1802) Banded Racer". Indian Snakes. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  4. Boulenger, G. A. (1890) Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.

References

  • Shaw, G. 1802 General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Vol.3, part 1 + 2. G. Kearsley, Thomas Davison, London: 313-615
  • Wilson, Larry David 1967 Generic reallocation and review of Coluber fasciolatus Shaw (Serpentes: Colubridae) Herpetologica 23 (4): 260-275
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