sunbeam snake
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Xenopeltis'', the sunbeam snakes, are the sole genus of the monotypic family Xenopeltidae, the species of which are found in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. Sunbeam snakes are known for their highly iridescent scales. Two
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
are recognized, each one with no subspecies. Studies of DNA suggest that the xenopeltids are most closely related to the Mexican burrowing python ('' Loxocemus bicolor'') and to the true pythons of
Pythonidae The Pythonidae, commonly known as pythons, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Ten genera and 42 species are currently recognized. Distributi ...
.


Description

Adults can grow up to in length.Burnie D, Wilson DE. 2001. ''Animal''. London: Dorling Kindersley. 624 pp. . The head scales are made up of large plates much like those of the Colubridae, while the
ventral scales In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...
are only slightly reduced. Pelvic vestiges are not present. The dorsal color pattern is a reddish-brown, brown, or blackish color. The belly is an unpatterned whitish-gray.Mehrtens JM. 1987. ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . The scales are highly iridescent.


Geographic range

They are found in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, east through
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
to southern China,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, Laos,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, the Malay Peninsula and the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...
to Sulawesi, as well as the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
.


Behavior and diet

These snakes are fossorial, spending much of their time hidden. They emerge at dusk to actively forage for frogs, other snakes, and small mammals. They are not venomous, and kill their prey with constriction.


Species

T)
Type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...
.


Captivity

These snakes are not very commonly kept as pets because of their high mortality rate in captivity. Shipping and the first six months in captivity are very stressful and often kill captive snakes. They also have very little tolerance of handling, with the resulting stress leading to premature death. Captive specimens should be provided with a temperature gradient and an easy to burrow substrate. The cage should be kept warm, but not hot, and they should be left alone.


References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q736378, from2=Q15125515 Reptiles of Southeast Asia Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Snake genera Reptiles of China