Muhtarophis

Muhtarophis barani, also known commonly as Baran's black-headed dwarf snake, is a species of snake in the monotypic genus Muhtarophis in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae.^[3] The species is endemic to the Amanos Mountains of Turkey, and was discovered in 2007.^[4][5]

Muhtarophis barani
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Muhtarophis Avci et al., 2015
Species:	M. barani
Binomial name
Muhtarophis barani (Olgun, Avci, Ilgaz, Üzüm & Yilmaz, 2007)
Synonyms[2]
Rhynchocalamus barani Olgun, Avci, Ilgaz, Üzüm & Yilmaz, 2007 Rhynchocalamus barani — Wallach et al. 2014 Muhtarophis barani — Avci et al. 2015 Muhtarophis barani — Šmíd et al. 2015

Etymology

The generic name, Muhtarophis, is in honor of Turkish herpetologist Muhtar Başoğlu (with the suffix -ophis meaning "snake").^[6]

The specific name, barani, is in honor of Turkish herpetologist İbrahim Baran [tr] of the Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir.^[2][7]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of M. barani are shrubland and rocky areas, at an altitude of 1,300 m (4,300 ft).^[1]

Description

M. barani has 17 dorsal scale rows at midbody, and 163–173 ventral scales. The head is oblique-shaped anteriorly. There is a distinctive black blotch under the eye, running into a narrow stripe. The dorsal surface of the body is colored reddish brown, with no spots.^[2]

Reproduction

M. barani is oviparous.^[2]