Trimerodytes praemaxillaris

Trimerodytes praemaxillaris is a species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. It is also known commonly as Angel's mountain keelback, Angel's stream snake, and the brown stream snake. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia.

Trimerodytes praemaxillaris
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Trimerodytes
Species:	T. praemaxillaris
Binomial name
Trimerodytes praemaxillaris Angel, 1929
Synonyms[2]
Paratapinophis praemaxillaris Angel, 1929 Opisthotropis praemaxillaris — Pope, 1935 Opisthotropis premaxillaris [sic] M.A. Smith, 1943 (ex errore) Opisthotrophis praemaxillaris — Chan-ard et al., 1999 Paratapinophis praemaxillaris — Murphy et al., 2008

Geographic range

T. praemaxillaris is found in China (Yunnan province), northern Laos, and Thailand.^[1][2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of T. praemaxillaris are forest and freshwater wetlands, at altitudes of 475–1,400 m (1,558–4,593 ft).^[1]

Description

Dorsally, T. praemaxillaris is brown. Ventrally, it is dirty yellowish. The dorsal scales are smooth and are in 19 rows at midbody.^[3]

Diet

T. praemaxillaris preys upon aquatic annelids.^[1]

Reproduction

T. praemaxillaris is oviparous.^[2] The cotypes are hatchlings, each with an egg-tooth and a fresh umbilical scar.^[4] Each of these little snakes has a total length of 21.5 cm (8.5 in), which includes a tail 5 cm (2.0 in) long.^[3]