Archelaphe

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Colubridae
Subfamilia: Colubrinae
Genus: Archelaphe
Species (1): A. bella
Name

Archelaphe Schulz, Böhme & Tillack, 2011

Type species: Coronella bella Stanley, 1917, by original designation and monotypy.

Synonyms

Maculophis Burbrink & Lawson, 2007: 186 [nomen nudum sensu Böhme & de Pury (2011: 121) and Schulz, Böhme & Tillack (2011)]
Type species: Coronella bella Stanley, 1917, by monotypy.

References
Primary references

Burbrink, F.T. & Lawson, R. 2007. How and when did Old World ratsnakes disperse into the New World? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43(1): 173–189. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.09.009 Paywall Reference page.
Böhme, W. & de Pury, S. 2011. A note on the generic allocation of Coluber moilensis Reuss 1834 (Serpentes: Psammophiidae). Salamandra 47(2): 120–123. PDF Reference page.
Schulz, K.-D., Böhme, W. & Tillack, F. 2011. Hemipenis Morphology of Coronella bella Stanley, 1917 with Comments on Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Issues of Ratsnakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Colubrinae: Elaphe Auct.). Russian Journal of Herpetology 18(4): 273–283. DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2011-18-4-273–283 Paywall Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Archelaphe . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 1 July 2020.

Archelaphe is a genus of snake in the family Colubridae. The genus contains the sole species Archelaphe bella, commonly known as the Burmese rat snake, which is endemic to Asia.[1]

Geographic range

A. bella is found in China, India, Myanmar, and Vietnam.[1]
Description

The dorsal pattern of A. bella resembles that of the North American corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus).[1] The longest specimen of A. bella measured by M.A. Smith (1943) was a male with a total length of 81 cm (32 in) which included a tail 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long.
Reproduction

A. bella is oviparous.[1]
Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[1]

Archelaphe bella bella (Stanley, 1917)
Archelaphe bella chapaensis (Bourret, 1934)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Archelaphe.
References

Archelaphe bella at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 December 2016.

Further reading

Bourret RN (1934). "Notes herpétologiques sur l'Indochine Française II. Sur quelques serpents des montagnes du Tonkin ". Bulletin Général de l'Instruction Publique, Hanoi 1934: 149–157. (Elaphe leonardi chapaensis, new subspecies). (in French).
Orlov, Nikolai L.; Ryabov, Sergey A.; Nguyen, Thien Tao; Nguyen, Truong Quang (2010). "Rediscovery and Redescription of Two Rare Snake Species: Oligodon lacroixi Angel et Bourret, 1933 and Maculophis bellus chapaensis (Bourret, 1934) [Squamata: Ophidia: Colubridae] from Fansipan Mountains, Northern Vietnam". Russian Journal of Herpetology 17 (4): 310–322.
Schulz, Klaus-Dieter; Böhme, Wolfgang; Tillack, Frank (2011). "Hemipenis Morphology of Coronella bella Stanley, 1917 with Comments on Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Issues of Ratsnakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Colubrinae: Elaphe auct.)". Russian Journal of Herpetology 18 (4): 273–283. (Archelaphe, new genus).
Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Elaphe leonardi, pp. 156–157).
Stanley, Arthur (1917). "Two new species of Chinese snakes". Journal of the North-China Branch Royal Asiatic Society, Shanghai 47: 83–84. (Coronella bella, new species).