Protobothrops elegans
Species of snake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Protobothrops elegans is a pit viper species endemic to Japan in the southern Ryukyu Islands.[1][3] No subspecies are currently recognized.[3][4] Common names include: elegant pit viper,[1][3][4][5] Sakishima habu (サキシマハブ),[6] and elegant tree viper.[7]
| Protobothrops elegans | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Viperidae |
| Genus: | Protobothrops |
| Species: | P. elegans |
| Binomial name | |
| Protobothrops elegans (Gray, 1849) | |
| Synonyms | |
Description
Scalation of Protobothrops elegans includes 25 (sometimes 23) rows of dorsal scales at midbody, 179–192 (males) or 182–196 (females) ventral scales, 63–90 subcaudal scales, and 8 (sometimes 7 or 9) supralabial scales.[5]
During 1965–2011, 2447 snakebites from this snake are reported with one fatality.[8]
Geographic distribution
Protobothrops elegans is found in Japan in the southern Ryukyu Islands, specifically in the Yaeyama Islands.[1] The type locality is unknown. Boulenger listed it as "---- ?" while Gray's original 1849 description gives "West Coast of [North?] America." A restriction to "Ishigaki-Shima [Ryukyu Islands, Japan]" was proposed by Stejneger (1907).[2]
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