''Lycodon chrysoprateros'', also known as Ross's wolf snake, is a species of

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

snake found on the island of Dalupiri in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Etymology

The species name ''chrysoprateros'' is derived from the Greek words ''chrys'', which means "gold," and ''prater'' which means "trader." The name was chosen by the biologists who described the snake to recognize H.G. Jarecki, the former chairman of the Mocatta Metals Corporation, who supported their work.

Description

The head of ''Lycodon chrysoprateros'' is distinct from the neck, and slightly flattened. It has pupils which are nearly circular, and its snout projects further forward than its lower jaw. The body is nearly cylindrical, being more rounded on the back and flattened on the belly. The

rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: ...

is large and triangular, extending backwards, and visible from above the snake. The dorsal surface of the snake is dark brown, without any patterning, and the ventral surface is ivory-yellow. A

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

for the species had a snout-to-vent length of 51.5 centimeters, and a tail-length of 21.2 centimeters, giving it a total length of 72.7 centimeters. Unlike other related species found in the area, it has no patterning on its back.

Reproduction

''Lycodon chrysoprateros'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

, or egg-laying.

Phylogeny

''L. chrysoprateros'' is a member of the genus '' Lycodon'', a genus of snakes commonly known as wolf snakes. The genus belongs to the snake family

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

, the largest snake family, with member species being found on every continent except Antarctica.

Habitat and ecology

The habitat and ecology of the species are poorly known. The three specimens used to describe the species were captured along a trail in the forest, and the species is known to be terrestrial.

Distribution

The species is definitively known only from Dalupiri Island in the Babuyan island group in the

, where it was first observed in 1990. The known range of the species is thus only 52 square kilometers. The species may have also been observed on the nearby islands of Calayan and Camiguin Norte: however, these are yet to be confirmed. If they are, the known range will expand to 300 square kilometers.

Conservation

''L. chrysoprateros'' is listed as "Critically endangered" in the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

, due to the fact that its range is only on an island that is facing significant habitat decline. Dalupiri Island has a highly fragmented forest which is declining further in size due to ranching activity. The nature of specific threats to the species remain poorly known, due to the species being poorly studied.

References

External links

Lycodon chrysoprateros
at the

Reptile Database The Reptile Database is a scientific database that collects taxonomic information on all living reptile species (i.e. no fossil species such as dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3268423 chrysoprateros Reptiles described in 1994 Reptiles of the Philippines Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of the Babuyan Islands