Forest vine snake
The forest vine snake (Thelotornis kirtlandii), also known commonly as the twig snake and the bird snake (as are other members of the genus Thelotornis), is a species of venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Africa.
Forest vine snake | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Thelotornis |
Species: | T. kirtlandii |
Binomial name | |
Thelotornis kirtlandii (Hallowell, 1844) | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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Etymology
The specific name, kirtlandii, is in honor of American naturalist Jared Potter Kirtland.[2]
Geographic range
T. kirtlandii is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, south to a latitude of about 17° S. It has been recorded from Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.[1]
Diet
T. kirtlandii is known to eat small birds.
References
- "Thelotornis kirtlandii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Thelotornis kirtlandi [sic]", p. 142).
Further reading
- Hallowell E (1844). "Descriptions of new species of African Reptiles". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 2: 58-62. (Leptophis kirtlandii, new species, p. 62).
- Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Hinkel, Harald; Menegon, Michele (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618.
External links
Wikispecies has information related to Thelotornis kirtlandii. |
- Species Thelotornis kirtlandii at The Reptile Database
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