Dolichophis jugularis

Species of snake From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dolichophis jugularis, also known commonly as the black whipsnake and the large whip snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to West Asia. There are three subspecies.

Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Serpentes
Quick facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...
Dolichophis jugularis
Dolichophis jugularis preying on a sheltopusik
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Dolichophis
Species:
D. jugularis
Binomial name
Dolichophis jugularis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[2]
  • Coluber jugularis
    Linnaeus, 1758
  • Zamenis viridiflavus var. asiana
    Boettger, 1880
  • Hierophis jugularis
    — Schätti, 1988
  • Dolichophis jugularis
    — Nagy et al., 2004
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Geographic range

Dolichophis jugularis is found in Cyprus, Greece, Turkey,[2] Iran, Iraq, Israel,[3] Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malta, and Syria.

Habitat

D. jugularis is found in a variety of habitats including forest, shrubland, grassland, and freshwater wetlands, at altitudes up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[1]

Description

Dorsally, adults are black, but juveniles are tan with darker small blotches. The juvenile pattern disappears when the snake reaches the age of three to four years.[2]

Reproduction

D. jugularis is oviparous.[1][2] Clutch size is 7–11 eggs.[1]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

  • Dolichophis jugularis asianus (Boettger, 1880)
  • Dolichophis jugularis cypriacus (Zinner, 1972)
  • Dolichophis jugularus jugularis (Linnaeus, 1758)

References

Further reading

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