Rhabdops olivaceus

Rhabdops olivaceus, the olive trapezoid snake or olive forest snake, is a snake endemic to the Western Ghats of India.[1][2][4] Following the description of populations in Goa, northernmost Karnataka, and southern Maharashtra as a new species, Rhabdops aquaticus, the known range of Rhabdops olivaceus is from Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Kerala north to Kottigehara in Karnataka, and possibly slightly further.[4]

Rhabdops olivaceus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Rhabdops
Species:
R. olivaceus
Binomial name
Rhabdops olivaceus
(Beddome, 1863)
Synonyms[2]
  • Ablabes olivaceus Beddome, 1863[3]
  • Pseudocyclophis olivaceus (Beddome, 1863)

This species is found in damp steamsides within rainforests and is distributed from Palghat in Kerala to the Malanad area of Karnataka. It is a docile, placid snake and is said to be semiaquatic, feeding on small, soft-bodied animals. In habits, it is more frequently seen during the rains, both day or night.

References

  1. Srinivasulu, B.; Srinivasulu, C.; Das, A.; Achyuthan, N.S. & Kulkarni, N.U. (2013). "Rhabdops olivaceus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T172649A1358911. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  2. Rhabdops olivaceus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 October 2020.
  3. Beddome, R.H. (1863). "Further notes upon the snakes of the Madras Presidency; with descriptions of new species". Madras Journal of Medical Science. 6: 41–48.
  4. Giri, Varad B.; Deepak, V.; Captain, Ashok; Das, Abhijit; Das, Sandeep; Rajkumar, K. P.; Rathish, R. L. & Gower, David J. (2017). "A new species of Rhabdops Boulenger, 1893 (Serpentes: Natricinae) from the northern Western Ghats region of India". Zootaxa. 4319 (1): 27–52. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4319.1.2.


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