Xenelaphis ellipsifer

Xenelaphis ellipsifer, the ornate brown snake,[3] or ocellated brown snake,[4] is a large species of snake, up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long,[5] which is found in Malaysia and Indonesia.[1] It has a rounded snout, its head is distinct from its neck,[5] and it has protruding large round eyes.[3] The top of the snake (the dorsum) is orange-red in color, and along the sides of its body are large black-edged squarish brown blotches separated by cream colored spaces.[5] It has a yellow upper lip.[6] X. ellipsifer is an aquatic species, found in forests at 800–1,000 m (2,600–3,300 ft) above sea level.[5]

Xenelaphis ellipsifer
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Xenelaphis
Species:
X. ellipsifer
Binomial name
Xenelaphis ellipsifer

The first description of this snake was published in 1900 by George Albert Boulenger, who found a single specimen in a fish trap above the Sarawak River in Malaysia.[3] This snake became the type specimen of the species, and is held at the British Museum in London.[3] Although this is a rare snake which has been described in few published reports, it is classified on the IUCN Red List as a species of least concern, since it is widely distributed in protected areas, and is therefore not under threat.[1]

References
  1. "Ocellated Brown Snake - Xenelaphis ellipsifer - Details". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  2. Boulenger, G. A. (21 August 2009). "Descriptions of new Reptiles and Batrachians from Borneo". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 69 (2): 182–187. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1890.tb01716.x.
  3. Auliya, Mark; Shepherd, Chris R. (2009). "New data on the poorly known snake, Xenelaphis ellipsifer Boulenger 1900 (Squamata: Colubridae)" (PDF). Hamadryad. Centre for Herpetology, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. 34 (1): 168–171.
  4. "Xenelaphis ellipsifer". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  5. Das, Indraneil (2015). "Ornate brown snake Xenelaphis ellipsifer". A Field Guide To The Reptiles Of South-East Asia. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 302. ISBN 978-1-4729-2057-7.
  6. de Rooij, Nelly (1917). "Xenelaphis ellipsifer Boulenger". The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. II Ophidia. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 95.
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