v4i1.65
Volume 4 | Number 1 | May 2012
Short Note
ISSN: 1800-427X (print)
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v4i1.65
Submitted date: 11 April 2012
Accepted date: 13 April 2012
Published date: 28 May 2012
Pp. 48–51.
Xenopeltis unicolor Boie, 1827 predation upon Sphenomorphus sp.
Bruno H. Martins & Gonçalo M. Rosa*
*E-mail: goncalo.m.rosa@gmail.com
Xenopeltis is a genus of non-venomous snakes characterized by its iridescent, highly polished scales which give to the species the common name “sunbeam snake”. Currently, two species are recognized. Xenopeltis unicolor Boie, 1827 is found in Southeast Asia and some regions of Indonesia occupying a variety of habitats from primary to secondary forests, agricultural and settled areas from elevations up to 1402 m. Being nocturnal and subfossorial, this species inhabits burrows excavated by small mammals and crevices within limestones, spending large amounts of time underground on the leaf litter. Pre-maxillary teeth are found in the aglyphous dentition of X. unicolor enabling a varied diet that consists primarily of frogs, lizards (particularly skinks), small mammals (such as rodents), birds and even other snakes.
Section Editor: Gernot Vogel
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v4i1.65
Submitted date: 11 April 2012
Accepted date: 13 April 2012
Published date: 28 May 2012
Pp. 48–51.
Xenopeltis unicolor Boie, 1827 predation upon Sphenomorphus sp.
Bruno H. Martins & Gonçalo M. Rosa*
*E-mail: goncalo.m.rosa@gmail.com
Xenopeltis is a genus of non-venomous snakes characterized by its iridescent, highly polished scales which give to the species the common name “sunbeam snake”. Currently, two species are recognized. Xenopeltis unicolor Boie, 1827 is found in Southeast Asia and some regions of Indonesia occupying a variety of habitats from primary to secondary forests, agricultural and settled areas from elevations up to 1402 m. Being nocturnal and subfossorial, this species inhabits burrows excavated by small mammals and crevices within limestones, spending large amounts of time underground on the leaf litter. Pre-maxillary teeth are found in the aglyphous dentition of X. unicolor enabling a varied diet that consists primarily of frogs, lizards (particularly skinks), small mammals (such as rodents), birds and even other snakes.
Section Editor: Gernot Vogel
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