''Oreocryptophis porphyraceus'' is a

rat snake Rat snakes are members – along with kingsnakes, milk snakes, Oxybelis, vine snakes and indigo snakes – of the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. They are medium to large Constriction, constrictors and are found throughout much o ...

species, commonly called the black-banded trinket snake, red bamboo snake, found in mid to upper-level elevations of forested hills in southeastern Asia, ranging from evergreen tropical to dry seasonal forests depending on the subspecies and locality. It is the only member of the genus ''Oreocryptophis'', but it was formerly placed in ''

Elaphe ''Elaphe'' is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. ''Elaphe'' is one of the main genera of the rat snakes, which are found in many regions of the northern hemisphere. ''Elaphe'' species are medium to large constrictors by nature. Based ...

''.

Description

The head is small, sharp and squarish, while the color pattern includes red or orange colors, along with black bands or stripes. A terrestrial species, it has a preference for cool climates that restricts its habitat to hills and mountain plateaus. It is known to be crepuscular, active during the late evenings till night and dawn till late mornings. In captivity, it is one of the most sought-after rat snake species.

Distribution

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(Darjeeling, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh (Miao, Namdapha - Changlang district, Itanagar - Papum Pare district),

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, South

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hong Kong, Hainan, northward to Henan and Gansu; south to Wei He river),

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, West

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

(Cameron Highlands, Pahang),

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

(Sumatra). The type locality given is "India: Assam, Mishmi ishmeeHills." It is also reported from Lowachhara National Park of North-eastern

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Habitat

These rat snakes thrive under cool and very humid conditions. On many occasions they are found at altitudes exceeding 800 meters in evergreen moist rainforest or monsoon forests, depending on the subspecies and locality. They spend most of the time hiding in leaf litter, under moss carpets, or under rocks and logs.

Diet

The diet consists primarily of rodents and other small mammals in the wild. Frogs are a possibility. In captivity, mice are accepted readily.

Subspecies

References

* Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. * Cantor, T. E. 1839 Spicilegium serpentium indicorum arts 1 and 2 Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 7: 31-34, 49-55. * Das, I. 1999 Biogeography of the amphibians and reptiles of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. In: Ota, H. (ed) Tropical Island herpetofauna.., Elsevier, pp. 43–77 * Gray, J. E. 1853 Descriptions of some undescribed species of reptiles collected by Dr. Joseph Hooker in the Khassia Mountains, East Bengal, and Sikkim Himalaya. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 12: 386 - 392 * Grossmann, Wolfgang and Klaus Dieter Schulz. 2000 ''Elaphe porphyracea laticincta'' Schulz & Helfenberger. Sauria 22 (2):2 * Gumprecht, A. 2003 Anmerkungen zu den Chinesischen Kletternattern der Gattung ''Elaphe'' (sensu lato) Fitzinger 1833. Reptilia (Münster) 8 (6): 37-41 * Lenk, P.; Joger, U. & Wink, M. 2001 Phylogenetic relationships among European ratsnakes of the genus ''Elaphe'' Fitzinger based on mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons. Amphibia-Reptilia 22 (3): 329-339 * Schulz, Klaus-Dieter 1996 A monograph of the colubrid snakes of the genus ''Elaphe'' Fitzinger. Koeltz Scientific Books, 439 pp. * Schulz, Klaus-Dieter (Ed.) 2013 Old World Ratsnakes. A Collection of Papers. Bushmaster Publishing, 432 pp. * Utiger, Urs, Notker Helfenberger, Beat Schätti, Catherine Schmidt, Markus Ruf and Vincent Ziswiler 2002 Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old World and New World ratsnakes, ''Elaphe'' Auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 9 (2): 105-124.

External links

Image of Oreocryptophis porphyraceus laticincta

Image of Oreocryptophis porphyraceus coxi

Image of Oreocryptophis porphyraceus coxi - hatching
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q14564443, from2=Q1982486 Colubrids Monotypic snake genera Snakes of Asia Reptiles of Bhutan Snakes of China Reptiles of Cambodia Reptiles of India Reptiles of Indonesia Reptiles of Laos Reptiles of Malaysia Reptiles of Myanmar Reptiles of Nepal Reptiles of Singapore Reptiles of Taiwan Reptiles of Thailand Snakes of Vietnam Reptiles described in 1839