Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Order Squamata Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Suborder Serpentes | |
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Xenocalamus mechowii, or the elongate quill-snouted snake, is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Atractaspididae. The species is endemic to Africa.
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Etymology
The specific name or epithet, mechowii, is in honor of Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander von Mechow, a Silesian-German explorer of Africa.
Geographic range
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Description
Dorsally yellowish with brown spots. Some spots arranged in alternating confluent pairs, others forming crossbands. Upper lip, sides of body, and ventrum unspotted.
A subadult 22.5 cm (8 3⁄4 in) in total length has a tail 3.5 cm (1 3⁄8 in) long.
Dorsal scales smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 17 rows. Ventrals 229-239; anal plate divided; subcaudals 31-36, also divided.
Head scalation same as Xenocalamus bicolor, except no supraoculars and two postoculars.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized including the nominate race.
Intergrades of these two subspecies can be found in North-Western Province, Zambia.