Spatula-toothed snake explained

The spatula-toothed snake (Iguanognathus werneri) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Indonesia.

Etymology

The specific name, werneri, is in honor of Austrian herpetologist Franz Werner.^[1]

Taxonomy

The species I. werneri is monotypic within the genus Iguanognathus.^[2]

Geographic range

I. werneri is known only from the holotype, which was collected in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Habitat

The natural habitat of I. werneri is unknown.

Description

All the teeth of I. werneri (mandibular, maxillary, and palatal) have spatulate crowns, which are ribbed along the outer side. The holotype, which is a female, has a total length of 35cm (14inches), including a tail 8.7cm (03.4inches) long.^[3]

Reproduction

I. werneri is oviparous.^[4]

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1898). "Description of a new Genus of Aglyphous Colubrine Snakes from Sumatra". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Seventh Series 2: 73–74. (Iguanognathus, new genus, p. 73; Iguanognathus werneri, new species, p. 74).
• David P, Vogel G (1996). The Snakes of Sumatra: An annotated checklist and key with natural history notes. Frankfurt am Main: Chimaira. 259 pp. .
• de Rooij N (1917). The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. II. Ophidia. Leiden: E.J. Brill. xiv + 334 pp. (Iguanognathus werneri, pp. 50–51).
• Jackson K, Underwood G, Arnold EN, Savitzky AH (1999). "Hinged Teeth in the Enigmatic Colubrid, Iguanognathus werneri ". Copeia 1999 (3): 814–817.

Notes and References

1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Iguanognathus werneri, p. 282).
2. "Iguanognathus ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
3. [George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]
4. . www.reptile-database.org.