Hensel's snake explained

Hensel's snake (Ditaxodon taeniatus) is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to southern Brazil, and it is monotypic in the genus Ditaxodon.

Geographic range

D. taeniatus is found in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and São Paulo.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of D. taeniatus are forest and grassland, at altitudes of .

Description

The neotype of D. taeniatus has a total length of, which includes a tail length of . The maximum recorded total lengths are for a female, and for a male.

Diet

D. taeniatus preys upon lizards and birds.

Reproduction

D. taeniatus is oviparous. Clutch size is around ten eggs.

Further reading

• Bernils RS, Kucharzewski C, Moura-Leite JC, Kwet A (2008). "Rediscovery of the holotype of Ditaxodon taeniatus (Peters in Hensel, 1868) (Serpentes: Colubridae), and invalidation of the neotype designation". Zootaxa 1764: 66–68.
• Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Conophis taeniatus, new combination, p. 124).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Ditaxodon taeniatus, p. 94).
• Hoge AR (1958). "Die systematische Stellung von Xenodon punctatus Peters 1880 und Philodryas taeniatus Hensel 1868 [= The systematic position of ''Xenodon punctatus'' Peters, 1880, and ''Philodryas taeniatus'' Hensel, 1868]". Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin 34 (1): 49–56. (Ditaxodon, new genus, and Ditaxodon taeniatus, new combination, pp. 54–55). (in German).
• Peters W (1868). In: Hensel R (1868). "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Wirbelthiere Südbrasiliens [= Contributions to the knowledge of the vertebrates of southern Brazil ]". Archiv für Naturgeschichte 34 (1): 323–375. (Philodryas taeniatus, new species, pp. 331–332). (in German).