Lycodon rufozonatus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
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: Lycodon
Species: Lycodon rufozonatus
Subspecies (2): L. r. rufozonatus – L. r. walli
Name

Lycodon rufozonatus (Cantor, 1842)

Type locality: Chusan, Zhejiang, China.
Synonyms

Lycodon rufo-zonatus Cantor, 1842
Lycodon rufozonatus — Günther, 1864: 319
Dinodon rufozonatus — Peters, 1881
Dinodon cancellatum Duméril & Bibron, 1854: 447
Coronella striata Hallowell, 1857: 152
Eumesodon striatus — Cope, 1860: 263
Dinodon rufozonatus Peters, 1881
Dinodon rufozonatus var. Formosona Boettger, 1885
Lycodon rufozonatus — Günther, 1888: 171
Dinodon rufozonatus — Boulenger, 1893: 361
Dinodon rufozonatum — Stejneger, 1907: 358
Dinodon rufozonatum williamsi Schmidt, 1925
Dinodon rufozonatum yunnanense Mell, 1931
Dinodon cf. rufozonatum — Ziegler, 2002: 228
Dinodon rufozonatum meridionale — Orlov, 2004: 181
Dinodon rufozonatum — Szczerbak, 2003

References

Cantor, T. 1842. General features of Chusan, with remarks on the flora and fauna of that island [part 1]. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) 9: 265–278.
Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1881. Herpetologische Mittheilungen (Excrescenzen des Männchens von Rana gigas Blyth in der Paarungszeit, Psammophis biseriatus und breviceps, Dinodon cancellatum Dum. Bibr. = Lycodon rufozonatus Cantor, Lycodon napei Dum. Bibr. = Lycodon striatus Shaw, bau des Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin 1881 (6): 87–91.
Szczerbak, N.N. 2003. Guide to the Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. Krieger, Malabar, FL, 260 pp.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Lycodon rufozonatus. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 4 August 2020.
Li, P., Zhou, Z., Guo, P., Jiang, J., Ji, X., Borkin, L., Milto, K., Golynsky, E., Rustamov, A, Munkhbayar, K., Nuridjanov, D., Kidera, N. & Ota, H. 2017. IUCN: Lycodon rufozonatus (Least Concern). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T192124A2043244.en. Accessed on 19 December 2021.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Grosszahnnatter
English: Red-banded Snake
日本語: アカマダラ
русский: Краснопоясный динодон
中文: 赤链蛇

Lycodon rufozonatus is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to East Asia. It is medium-sized, nocturnal, and is considered non-venomous. Two subspecies are recognised, one of which, L. r. walli, is restricted to the Ryukyu Archipelago.

Etymology

The subspecific name, walli, is in honor of British herpetologist Frank Wall.[3]
Description

Lycodon rufozonatus typically grows to a total length (including tail) of around 70 centimetres (28 in), reaching up to 130 cm (51 in) in extreme cases.[4] The head is long and relatively flat, and somewhat separate from the neck. The medium-sized eyes bulge slightly and have vertical pupils. The ventral scales have a strong keel, while the dorsal scales are only faintly keeled; the scale count is typically 17:17:15, but can be up to 21:19:17.[4]
Geographic range

Lycodon rufozonatus is found across a large part of East Asia, from the Korean Peninsula in the north (and extending just into easternmost Russia) to northern Laos and Vietnam in the south; the bulk of its range in found in eastern China.[4] The continental populations are all placed in the nominate subspecies (L. r. rufozonatus); a second subspecies, L. r. walli, is found in the Ryukyu Archipelago of southern Japan.[5]
Behaviour and ecology

Lycodon rufozonatus lives in a wide variety of habitats; it can be found from near sea level to as high as 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), and is most common near river plains.[4] It is usually found on the ground, but is occasionally seen swimming in streams.[4] It is nocturnal, feeding on fish, frogs, lizards, snakes and young birds.[4] D. rufozonatus has a generally mild disposition, curling into a spherical mass with the head hidden when approached. Individuals can, however, be unpredictable, and some will bite readily.[4] There are very few clinical reports on the toxinology of D. rufozonatus bites, but the species appears to be non-venomous.[4] L. rufozonatus can harbour tapeworms of the genus Spirometra, and the consumption of raw meat from D. rufozonatus has led to cases of human sparganosis in Korea and Japan.[6]
Reproduction

L. rufozonatus is oviparous.[2]
Taxonomic history

The species was first described as "Lycodon rufo-zonatus " by Theodore Edward Cantor in an 1842 paper on the fauna of "Chusan" (Zhoushan, China) in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.[7] Cantor included it among the "innocuous" (not venomous) species, and described it as "Brown, with numerous transversal crimson bands; the abdominal surface pearl-coloured, spotted with black on the tail".[7]
Common names

L. rufozonatus is known by several common names, including "Asian king snake",[8] "banded red snake", "red banded krait", "red banded odd-toothed snake" and "red-banded snake".[4]
References

Li, P.; Zhou, Z.; Guo, P.; Jiang, J.; Ji, X.; Borkin, L.; Milto, K.; Golynsky, E.; Rustamov, A.; Munkhbayar, K.; Nuridjanov, D.; Kidera, N.; Ota, H. (2017). "Lycodon rufozonatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T192124A2043244. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T192124A2043244.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
Species Lycodon rufozonatus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Dinodon rufozonatus walli, p. 279).
"Dinodon rufozonatum". Clinical Toxinology Resources. University of Adelaide. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
Ananjeva, Natalia B. (2006). "Red-banded snake Dinodon rufozonatus (Cantor, 1840)". The Reptiles of Northern Eurasia: Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, Conservation Status. Series faunistica. Vol. 47. Pensoft Publishers. p. 141. ISBN 9789546422699.
Cook, Gordon Charles; Zumla, Alimuddin (2009). Manson's Tropical Diseases (22nd ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 1662. ISBN 9781416044703.
Cantor, Theodore Edward (1842). "General features of Chusan, with remarks on the flora and fauna of that island". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. First Series. 9 (59, 60): 361–371, 481–493. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.6704. (Lycodon rufo-zonatus, new species, p. 483). (in English and Latin).
Dieckmann,Simon; Norval, Gerrut; Mao, Jean-Jay (2010). "A description of an Asian king snake (Dinodon rufozonatum rufozonatum [Cantor, 1842]) clutch size from central western Taiwan" (PDF). Herpetology Notes. 3: 313–314.