Lytorhynchus paradoxus
Lytorhynchus paradoxus, commonly known as the Sind longnose sand snake, is a species of snake endemic to the desert areas of Pakistan and India (Rajasthan).
| Lytorhynchus paradoxus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Lytorhynchus |
| Species: | L. paradoxus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lytorhynchus paradoxus (Günther, 1875) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description
Snout long and acutely pointed; rostral with a lateral cleft; suture between the internasals shorter than that between the prefrontals and shorter than the upper part of the rostral; frontal nearly as long as its distance from the end of the snout, as long as the parietals; supraocular narrow; three preoculars; two postoculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3; upper labials 8, fifth entering the eye; 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shields, which are shorter but much broader than the posterior.
Dorsal scales in 19 rows at midbody. Ventrals slightly angulate laterally, 169-175; anal divided; subcaudals 40-53.
Cream-coloured above, with a dorsal series of transverse brown spots and a less distinct lateral series of smaller spots on each side; a large rhomboidal brown spot on the back of the head, and a brown band behind the eye; lower parts white.
Total length 14 inches (360 mm); tail 2.3 inches (58 mm).[2]
References
- "Lytorhynchus paradoxus ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- 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. (Lytorhynchus paradoxus, new combination, p. 323 + Figure 98 on p. 322).
Further reading
- Bhide K, Captain A, Khandal D. 2004. "First record of Lytorhynchus paradoxus (Günther, 1875) from the Republic of India, with notes on its distribution". Hamadryad 28 (1&2): 123-127.
- Günther A. 1875. "Second Report on Collections of Indian Reptiles obtained by the British Museum". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1875: 224-234. (Acontiophis paradoxa, new species, pp. 232–233, Figure 5).
- Murray JA. 1884. "Additions to the Reptilian Fauna of Sind". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Fifth Series 14: 106-111.