Savanna vine snake

Savanna vine snake
	Threat display
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Thelotornis
Species:	T. capensis
Binomial name
	Thelotornis capensis; A. Smith, 1849

The savanna vine snake or southern vine snake (Thelotornis capensis) is a species of highly venomous snake in the family Colubridae.

Geographic range

Thelotornis capensis is found in southern Africa.^[2]

Description

Thelotornis capensis is slender and has a long tail. The longest museum specimen is a male with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 106 cm (42 in), a tail 62 cm (24 in) long, and a combined total length of 168 cm (66 in).^[2]^[3]

Reproduction

Thelotornis capensis is oviparous.^[2]^[3] The eggs are elongated and rather small, each measuring on average 36 mm (1.4 in) long and 16 mm (0.63 in) wide.^[2]

Subspecies

Three subspecies of T. capensis are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[3]

Thelotornis capensis capensis A. Smith, 1849
Thelotornis capensis oatesi (Günther, 1881)
Thelotornis capensis schilsi Derleyn, 1978

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

Etymology

The subspecific name, oatesi, honors British naturalist Frank Oates.^[4]

References

^ Spawls, S. (2021). "Thelotornis capensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T164904938A120632972. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T164904938A120632972.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Branch, William R. [in French] (1994). "Thelotornis capensis". Bill Branch's Field Guide to the Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. pp. 100-101 + Plates 18 & 31. ISBN 978-1-86825-575-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Thelotornis capensis ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). "Oates, F.". The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. JHU Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.

External links

Species Thelotornis capensis at The Reptile Database

[iucn_status_12_November_2021-1] Spawls, S. (2021). "Thelotornis capensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T164904938A120632972. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T164904938A120632972.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

[Branch1994-2] Branch, William R. [in French] (1994). "Thelotornis capensis". Bill Branch's Field Guide to the Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. pp. 100-101 + Plates 18 & 31. ISBN 978-1-86825-575-7.

[RDB-3] "Thelotornis capensis ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

[4] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). "Oates, F.". The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. JHU Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.

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