Platyceps gracilis

Platyceps gracilis, commonly known as the graceful racer or slender racer,[2][3] is a species of snake endemic to India.[1][2]

Platyceps gracilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Platyceps
Species:
P. gracilis
Binomial name
Platyceps gracilis
(Günther, 1862)
Synonyms[2]
  • Zamenis gracilis
    Günther, 1862
  • Tyria gracilis
    — Cope, 1862
  • Coluber gracilis
    — M.A. Smith, 1943
  • Argyrogena gracilis
    — Sharma, 2004
  • Platyceps gracilis
    — Wallach et al., 2014

Description
See snake scales for terms used

Snout is obtuse; rostral nearly as deep as broad, just visible from above; suture between the internasals a little shorter than that between the prefrontals; frontal slightly longer than its distance from the end of the snout, nearly as long as the occipitals; loreal nearly as deep as long; one preocular, with a small subocular below 3 two postoculars ; temporals 2+2; 9 upper labials, fifth and sixth entering the eye; 4 or 5 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields; posterior chin-shields as long as or longer than the anterior, separated anteriorly by two scales. Scales smooth, in 21 rows. Ventrals ungulate laterally, 213-228; anal divided; subcaudals 118–121. Yellowish above, with a series of large round brown spots edged with black, separated by narrow interspaces; these spots become more indistinct on the posterior part of the body; a black cross-band on the snout and three angular dark brown black-edged bands on the head, the anterior between the eye, the posterior extending on to the nape; lower parts yellowish, with an irregular series of black spots on each side. Total length 33 inches; tail 10.[4]

Distribution

This species is endemic to India and has been recorded in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.[1][2]

Notes
  1. Srinivasulu C, Srinivasulu B, Mohapatra P, Vyas R, Thakur S (2013). "Coluber gracilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T172692A1367883. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172692A1367883.en.
  2. Platyceps gracilis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 14 March 2016.
  3. "Slender Racer - Coluber gracilis ". Indian Snakes Database. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  4. Boulenger, GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Zamenis gracilis, p. 327).

References
  • Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Zamenis gracilis, p. 404).
  • Günther A (1862) "On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series 9: 124–132. (Zamenis gracilis, new species, pp. 125–126).
  • Schätti B, Wilson LD (1986). "Coluber Linnaeus. Holarctic racers". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (399): 1–4.
  • 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. (Coluber gracilis, new combination, pp. 171–172).


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