Lycodon gammiei

Lycodon gammiei, commonly known as Gammie's wolf snake or the Sikkim false wolf snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to India.

Lycodon gammiei
Lycodon gammiei
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Lycodon
Species:	L. gammiei
Binomial name
Lycodon gammiei (Blanford, 1878)
Synonyms[2]
Ophites gammiei Blanford, 1878 Lycodon gammiei — Boulenger, 1890 Dinodon gammiei — Wall, 1923 Lycodon gammiei — Siler et al., 2013

Etymology

The specific name, gammiei, is in honor of naturalist James Alexander Gammie (1839–1924), who managed a Cinchona plantation in Darjeeling from 1865 to 1897.^[3]

Geographic range

Lycodon gammiei is found in northern India, in the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, and in Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of L. gammiei is forest.^[1]

Description

At first glance, Gammie's wolf snake resembles the venomous kraits. Its body is encircled by alternating dark and light rings with irregular margins. Its head is dark olive, and there are light spots in the center of most head shields. It has an imperfect pale collar, and the underside of the head and neck are whitish. Adults are about 80 cm (32 inches) in total length (including tail).^[4]

Reproduction

L. gammiei is oviparous.^[2]