Andrea's keelback explained

Andrea's keelback (Hebius andreae) is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to Vietnam.

Etymology

The specific name, andreae, is in honor of Andrea Ziegler, wife of German herpetologist .^[1]

Geographic range

H. andreae is found in the central Annamite Range in Vietnam.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of H. andreae is forest, at an altitude of 450m (1,480feet).

Discovery

Only one specimen of H. andreae has ever been examined and photographed. In 2006, Thomas Ziegler and Le Khac Quyet, captured a male in the area of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park whose coloring was distinct enough from other known keelbacks to be described as a newly discovered species. There has been one bite recorded from this species on Bharathi Pochu.^[2]

Reproduction

H. andreae is oviparous.

Notes and References

1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Amphiesma andreae, p. 9).
2. , Le KQ (2006). "A new natricine snake of the genus Amphiesma (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) from the central Truong Son, Vietnam". Zootaxa 1225: 39–56. (Amphiesma andreae, new species).