Sikkim keelback explained

The Sikkim keelback (Herpetoreas sieboldii) is a species of grass snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South Asia and Myanmar.^[1] It is closely related to the Himalayan keelback, and some treat this species as a synonym (Tillack 2003).

Geographic range

H. sieboldii is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India (Punjab, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh), Myanmar (formerly called Burma), Nepal, and Pakistan.^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, sieboldii, is in honor of German zoologist Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold.

Reproduction

H. sieboldii is oviparous.^[2]

Further reading

• Günther A (1860). "Contributions to a Knowledge of the Reptiles of the Himalaya Mountains". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1860: 148–175. (Herpetoreas sieboldii, new species, pp. 156–157).
• Günther A (1864). The Reptiles of British India. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor & Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. (Herpetoreas sieboldii, pp. 257–258).
• Kramer E (1977). "Zur Schlangenfauna Nepals ". Rev. suisse Zool. 84 (3): 721–761. (in German).
• Malnate EV (1966). "Amphiesma platyceps (Blyth) and Amphiesma sieboldii (Günther): sibling species (Reptilia: Serpentes)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 63 (1): 1–17.
• Theobald W (1868). "Catalogue of Reptiles in the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal". J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, Calcutta 37 (extra number 146): (2), vi + 7-88.
• Theobald W (1876). Descriptive Catalogue of the Reptiles of British India. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. xiii + 238 pp.
• Tillack F (2003). "Über die Verbreitung und Biologie der Himalaya-Gebirgswassernatter Amphiesma platyceps (Blyth 1854) und einen Fall von Amphigonia retardata (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae)". Sauria 25 (1): 21–27. (in German).

Notes and References

1. Web site: Herpetoreas sieboldii. The Reptile Database.
2. . www.reptile-database.org.