Calamaria gervaisii explained
Calamaria gervaisii, commonly known as Gervais's worm snake and the Philippine dwarf snake, is a species of small fossorial snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the Philippines.
Etymology
The specific name, gervaisii, is in honor of French zoologist Paul Gervais.[1]
Geographic range
C. gervaisii is endemic to the Philippine Islands.[2] Its range includes the islands of Basilan, Catanduanes, Cebu, Lubang, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Panay, Polillo, and Tablas.
Habitat and behavior
C. gervaisii is found from near sea level up to altitudes of 1000m (3,000feet). It lives in forests and plantations, burrowing in the leaf litter and hiding under stones and fallen logs, or between the buttresses of trees.
Description
The longest specimen of C. gervaisii measured by Boulenger (1894) had a total length of, which included a tail long.
Reproduction
C. gervaisii is oviparous.[3]
Conservation status
The IUCN has listed C. gervaisii as being of "least concern" because it has a wide range, appears to be abundant with a stable population, and seems to be tolerant of disturbance to its natural habitat. No particular threats to this species have been identified.
Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Calamaria gervaisii, pp. 338–339).
- Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A[-H-A] (1854). Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles, Volume 7, Part 1, Containing the History of the Nonvenomous Snakes]. Paris: Roret. xvi + 780 pp. (Calamaria gervaisii, new species, pp. 76–78). (in French).
- Jan [G] (1865). Iconographie générale des Ophidiens, Dixième livraison [= General Iconography of the Snakes, Issue 10]. (illustrated by F. Sordelli). Paris: Baillière. Index + Plates I-VI. (Calamaria gervaisii, Plate II, figure 1). (in French).
- Weinell JL, Hooper E, Leviton AE, Brown RM (2019). "Illustrated Key to the Snakes of the Philippines". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 66 (1): 1–49.
Notes and References
- Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Calamaria gervaisii, p. 100).
- Brown, Rafe M. . Siler, Cameron D. . Oliveros, Carl H. . Welton, Luke J. . Rock, Ashley . Swab, John . Van Weerd, Merlijn . van Beijnen, Jonah . Jose, Edgar. Rodriguez, Dominic . Jose, Edmund. Diesmos, Arvin C. . 2013. The amphibians and reptiles of Luzon Island, Philippines, VIII: the herpetofauna of Cagayan and Isabela Provinces, northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range. ZooKeys. 266. 1–120. 10.3897/zookeys.266.3982. 23653519. 3591760. free.
- www.reptile-database.org.