The Mandarin Rat Snake, Elaphe mandarina, is a species of snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

 found in Asia. It is a relatively small rat snake; adult size is 1 m (40 in.) or less. It is closely related to Elaphe conspicillata

Elaphe conspicillata

The Japanese Forest Rat Snake, Elaphe conspicillata reaches 70 to 100 centimeters in length. The Japanese name, jimuguri, roughly translates to "the burrower"...

, the Japanese Forest Rat Snake.

Distribution

India, N. Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, S China (westward to SE Xizang = Tibet and northward to Shaanxi; Chekiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Kweichow, Sichuan; south to Wei He and Han Shui rivers, Beijing)

Type locality: China: Zhejiang, Chusan island (Cantor, 1842)

Taxonomy

In recent years there has been some taxonomic controversy over the genera of rat snakes. Based on mitochondrial DNA, Utiger et al. (2002) argued for a splintering of the genus Elaphe and suggested a reworking of the genera.

However, all published taxonomy remains a taxonomic suggestion until ruled on by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN - http://www.iczn.org/), but the body has so far not supported the change and has not addressed the taxonomic suggestion, thus the official taxonomy remains Elaphe.

Natural history

The Mandarin Rat Snake is a secretive species, often using rodent burrows for shelter. It feeds primarily on small rodents, prefers cooler temperatures, and is predominately crepuscular

Crepuscular

Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright...

. It occurs from sea level to at least 3,000m.

External links

• Reptile database
• http://www.xs4all.nl/~reptilia/Images/Elaphe%20mandarina.jpg
• fiche sur l'Elaphe mandarina (en français)

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