Trachischium

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: Natricinae
Genus: Trachischium
Species (6): T. fuscum – T. guentheri – T. laeve – T. monticola – T. sushantai – T. tenuiceps
Name

Trachischium Günther, 1858: 30

Type species: Trachischium rugosum Günther, 1858, by monotypy.
References
Primary references

Günther, A. 1858. Catalogue of Colubrine snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Order of the trustees: London. xvi + 281 pp. BHL

Additional references

Raha, S., Das, S., Bag, P., Debnath, S. & Pramanick, K. 2018. Description of a new species of genus Trachischium with a redescription of Trachischium fuscum (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae). Zootaxa 4370(5): 549–561. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4370.5.6. Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Trachischium . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 11 June 2018.

Trachischium is a genus of snakes, known commonly as slender snakes or worm-eating snakes, in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae.[1] The genus is endemic to Asia.

Geographic range

Species of the genus Trachischium are found through montane regions of the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal.
Description

Snakes of the genus Trachischium exhibit the following characters: head not distinct from neck; eye small, with vertically subelliptic pupil; nostril between two small nasals; prefrontals sometimes united; body cylindrical; dorsal scales smooth, in 13 or 15 rows, without apical pits; ventrals rounded; tail short; subcaudals divided; maxillary teeth 18–20, subequal; posterior mandibular teeth shorter than anterior; hypapophyses developed throughout vertebral column.[2]
Species

There are 7 species in the genus Trachischium which are recognized as being valid.[1]

Trachischium apteii Bhosale, Gowande, & Mirza, 2019
Trachischium fuscum (Blyth, 1854) – blackbelly worm-eating snake, Darjeeling slender snake
Trachischium guentheri Boulenger, 1890 – Günther's Oriental slender snake, rosebelly worm-eating snake
Trachischium laeve Peracca, 1904 – olive Oriental slender snake
Trachischium monticola (Cantor, 1839) – mountain worm-eating snake
Trachischium sushantai Raha, S. Das, Bag, Debnath & Pramanick, 2018
Trachischium tenuiceps (Blyth, 1854) – yellowbelly worm-eating snake

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Trachischium.
References

Trachischium at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 October 2018.

Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Genus Trachischium, p. 297).

Further reading

Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Genus Trachischium, p. 284).
Günther A (1858). Catalogue of Colubrine Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xvi + 281 pp. (Trachischium, new genus, p. 30).
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. (Genus Trachischium, p. 321).