Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Order Squamata | Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Suborder Serpentes | |
Lycodon cavernicolus, also known as Gua Wang Burma wolf snake, is a species of colubrid snake found in peninsular Malaysia. It was first described in 2014.
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Etymology
The species name cavernicolus is derived from the Latin words caverna, which means "cave" and cola which means "dweller of." It refers to the fact that L. cavernicolus lives in caves.
Phylogeny
L. cavernicolus is a member of the genus Lycodon, a genus of snakes commonly known as wolf snakes. The genus belongs to the snake family Colubridae, the largest snake family, with member species being found on every continent except Antarctica.
Description
L. cavernicolus has a flat head that is distinct from its neck, with an elongated snout. The nostrils are in the middle of the nasal scale, and large. The eyes are also large, with a vertical, elliptical pupil. The body is somewhat compressed from side to side. A holotype had a total length of 50.8 centimeters. The body is light brown, with bands of a lighter share. 36 bands are on the back and 29 on the tail. The head is the color of the lighter bands. The belly of the snake is beige. Juveniles have bold white markings on a darker brown background.
L. cavernicolus can be differentiated from closely related snakes such as Lycodon ruhstrati and Lycodon fasciatus by the presence of an elongated loreal scale, and either 245 ventral scales in the male or 232 in the female. Juveniles of the species have white bands.
Habitat & ecology
The holotype for L. cavernicolus was found deep inside a limestone cave. The snake is oviparous, or egg-laying. It is thought to eat geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus.
Distribution
The holotype for the species, as well as another specimen, were collected in a cave in Perlis State Park, Perlis, Malaysia.