Lycodon bicolor explained

Lycodon bicolor, commonly known as the Two-coloured wolf snake, Bicolored wolf snake, or the Golden wolf snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Western Himalaya.

Geographic range

L. bicolor is restricted to the western Himalayas, ranging from Uttarakhand in India east through Jammu & Kashmir to POK in Pakistan. It was originally described from Mussoorie, but was not found again at its type locality for over 112 years until it was rediscovered in 2019 during survey work in Binog Wildlife Sanctuary; these findings were reported in 2021. As Mussoorie is a major tourist destination, the Mussoorie wolf snakes may be threatened by vehicular traffic, pollution, and other tourism-related activities near the sanctuary; due to this, a detailed status survey and further research into the species are required.^{[1] [2]}

Description

L. bicolor is a small snake. Adults may attain a total length of 36.5cm (14.4inches), which includes a tail 6.5cm (02.6inches) long. Dorsally, it is brown, with a network of white lines. Ventrally, it is uniformly white, or white with brown-edged ventrals. The dorsal scales are smooth, and are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. The anal plate is divided.^[3]

Reproduction

L. bicolor is oviparous.

Further reading

• Lanza B (1999). "A new species of Lycodon from the Philippines, with a key to the genus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae)". Tropical Zoology 12: 89–104.
• Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Lycodon mackinnoni, p. 263).
• Wall F (1906). "A New Himalayan Snake (Lycodon mackinnoni)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 17: 29–30.
• Wall F (1923). "A Hand-list of the Snakes of the Indian Empire. Part 2". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 29 (3): 598–632. (Ophites mackinnoni, p. 614).

Notes and References

1. [Frank Wall (herpetologist)|Wall]
2. Nawani. Swati. Deepak. V.. Gautam. Kumudani Bala. Gupta. Sandeep Kumar. Boruah. Bitupan. Das. Abhijit. 2021-05-04. Systematic status of the rare Himalayan wolf snake Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906 (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa. en. 4966. 3. 305–320. 10.11646/zootaxa.4966.3.3. 34186615 . 235509432 . 1175-5334.
3. Smith MA (1943).