Sakishima green snake

The Sakishima green snake (Ptyas herminae) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Yaeyama Islands in the southern Ryukyu Islands of Japan.^[1]

Sakashima Green Snake
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Ptyas
Species:	P. herminae
Binomial name
Ptyas herminae (Boettger, 1895)
Synonyms[2]
Ablabes herminae Boettger, 1895 Liopeltis herminae — Stejneger, 1907 Entichinus herminae — Cundall, 1981 Opheodrys herminae — [author missing], [year missing] Eurypholis herminae — [author missing], [year missing] Cyclophiops herminae — Toriba, 1989 Ptyas herminae — Figueroa et al., 2016

Etymology

The specific name, herminae, is in honor of Boettger's wife, Hermine Boettger.^[3]

Geographic range

P. herminae is found in the Yaeyama Islands of Japan.^[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of P. herminae is forest.^[1]

Description

P. herminae may attain a total length of 58 cm (23 in), which includes a tail about 11 cm (4.3 in) long.^[4]

Behavior

P. herminae is terrestrial.^[1]

Diet

P. herminae preys upon earthworms.^[1]

Reproduction

P. herminae is oviparous.^[2] An adult female may lay a clutch of about eight eggs in August, which is later than other species of terrestrial snakes lay eggs in the Ryukyus.^[1]