Hebius venningi, commonly known as the Chin Hills keelback or Venning's keelback, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Asia.

Hebius venningi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Hebius
Species:
H. venningi
Binomial name
Hebius venningi
(Wall, 1910)
Synonyms[2]
  • Tropidonotus venningi
    Wall, 1910
  • Natrix venningi
    M.A. Smith, 1943
  • Amphiesma venningi
    Malnate, 1960
  • Paranatrix venningi
    Mahendra, 1984
  • Hebius venningi
    Guo et al., 2014

Etymology edit

The specific name, venningi, is in honor of British ornithologist Francis Esmond Wingate Venning (1882–1970).[3]

Geographic range edit

H. venningi is found in southwestern China (Yunnan and Guangxi), northeastern India (Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh), and northern Myanmar.[1][2] It is also reported from Bangladesh.[4]

Habitat edit

The preferred natural habitats of H. venningi are forest and freshwater wetlands, at altitudes of 900–1,786 m (2,953–5,860 ft)[1]

Description edit

H. venningi is grayish brown dorsally, and yellowish or pinkish ventrally. It may attain a total length (including tail) of 68 cm (27 in).[5]

Diet edit

H. venningi preys upon tadpoles.[6][5]

Reproduction edit

H. venningi is oviparous.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Lau, M. (2020). "Hebius venningi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T192156A176406417. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T192156A176406417.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Hebius venningi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 18 August 2020.
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Amphiesma venningi, p. 274).
  4. ^ Ahm Reza (November 2010). "First record of Amphiesma venningi (wall, 1910) (Serpentes, Colubridae, Natricinae) from Bangladesh, with notes on its taxonomy, natural history, biogeography and other sympatric species". Hamadryad. 35 (1): 64–72 – via ResearchGate.
  5. ^ a b I. Das, 2002.
  6. ^ M.A. Smith, 1943.

Further reading edit

  • Das I [fr] (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Amphiesma venningi, p. 19).
  • 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. (Natrix venningi, pp. 286–287).
  • Wall F (1910). "A new Tropidonotus from the Chin Hills". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 20: 345–346. (Tropidonotus venningi, new species).