Summary
Thermophis baileyi, also known commonly as Bailey's snake, the hot-spring keelback, the hot-spring snake,[3] and the Xizang hot-spring keelback, is a rare species of colubrid snake endemic to Tibet.
| Thermophis baileyi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Thermophis |
| Species: | T. baileyi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Thermophis baileyi (Wall, 1907)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Etymology edit
The specific name, baileyi, is in honor of Frederick M. Bailey, a British army officer and explorer.[4]
Geographic range edit
T. baileyi is found only at high altitudes on the Tibetan Plateau. The species is endemic to Tibet and was recorded for the first time in 1907 by Wall near Gyantze at 4,300 m (14,100 ft) above sea level (no exact coordinates available).[5] In 1990 Macey and Papenfuss reported the species from Yangbajain hot spring area. So far T. baileyi is known only from a few sites.[6][7][8] A comprehensive distribution map of T. baileyi was provided by Hofmann et al. (2014), showing that the geographic range of the snake is a restricted area between the Transhimalaya and the Himalaya, along the central part of the Yarlung Zhangbo suture zone.[9]
Description edit
Thermophis baileyi is olive green, with five series of indistinct spots dorsally, most pronounced in the forebody. It has a dusky postocular streak, and dusky posterior edges to the labials. The belly is bluish-grey, with each ventral black basally. The young are darker than adults.
The dorsal scales are in 19 rows at midbody, all keeled except the last row, with indistinct double apical facets. The ventrals number 201–221. The anal is divided. The subcaudals number 91-111, mostly divided, but with a few entire.
Adults may attain a total length (including tail) of 2 feet 6 inches (76 cm).[5]
Conservation status edit
Bailey's snake is considered Near Threatened by IUCN.[1] In the last decades, the growing exploitation of geothermal energy has led to a destruction of hot spring habitats, resulting in an increased threat to populations of hot-spring snakes.[7][10][11]
Taxonomy edit
The existence of Bailey's snake was first announced in the scientific literature in 1907, when it was described as a new species by Frank Wall.[5] Wall originally classified it as Tropodinotus baileyi. In 1953 Malnate referred to it as Tropidonotus (= Natrix) baileyi, and realizing that Bailey's snake did not fit in the genus Natrix, placed it in the new genus Thermophis, designating T. baileyi as the type species.[12]
Habitat edit
Snakes of the genus Thermophis live probably at the highest altitude of any snakes in the world.[13] The presence of T. baileyi is strongly attributable to hot springs with low sulphur concentration, locations in river valleys that provide rocky slopes and vegetated shorelines, and existence of a river within a 500 m (1,600 ft) radius.[9]
References edit
- ^ a b Rao, D.-q.; Li, P. (2014). "Thermophis baileyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T21736A2778010. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T21736A2778010.en.
- ^ Species Thermophis baileyi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ "Hot-spring snake" is the translation of the Chinese name 温泉蛇.
- ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Thermophis baileyi, p. 14).
- ^ a b c Wall F (2007). "Some new Asian snakes". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 17 (3): 612–618 + three unnumbered plates. (Tropidonotus baileyi, new species, pp. 617–618 + second unnumbered plate, six views).
- ^ He M, Feng J-C, Liu S-Y, Guo P, Zhao E-M (2009). "The phylogenetic position of Thermophis (Serpentes: Colubridae), an endemic snake from the Qinghai‐Xizang Plateau, China" (PDF). Journal of Natural History. 43 (7–8): 479–488. doi:10.1080/00222930802389825. S2CID 84653966. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Huang S, Liu S-y, Guo P, Zhang Y-p, Zhao E-m (2009). "What are the closest relatives of the hot-spring snakes (Colubridae, Thermophis), the relict species endemic to the Tibetan Plateau?" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 51 (3): 438–446. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.02.013. PMID 19249375. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Zhao E-m (1998). "Thermophis baileyi ". pp. 318–320. In: Zhao E-m et al. (1998). Fauna Sinica, Reptilia, vol. 3, Serpentes. Beijing: Science Press.
- ^ a b Hofmann S, Kraus S, Dorge T, Nothnagel M, Fritzsche P, Miehe G (2014). "Effects of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations on the phylogeography, demography and population structure of a high-elevation snake species, Thermophis baileyi, on the Tibetan Plateau". Journal of Biogeography. 41 (11): 2162–2172. doi:10.1111/jbi.12358. S2CID 83590838.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Dorge T, Hofmann S, Wangdwei M, Duoje L, Solhøy T, Miehe G (2007). "The ecological specialist, Thermophis baileyi (Wall, 1907) – new records, distribution and biogeographic conclusions". Herpetological Bulletin. 101: 8–12.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hofmann S (2012). "Population genetic structure and geographic differentiation in the hot spring snake Thermophis baileyi (Serpentes, Colubridae): Indications for glacial refuges in southern-central Tibet". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 396–406. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.01.014. PMID 22306823.
- ^ Malnate EV (1953). "The Taxonomic Status of the Tibetan Colubrid Snake Natrix baileyi ". Copeia. 1953 (2): 92–96. doi:10.2307/1440132. JSTOR 1440132.
- ^ Hill, Bernard (narrator) (25 May 2008). "Tibet". Wild China. Wild China #3. "Tibet". 13:00 minutes in. BBC. BBC Two. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
External links edit
- Hot spring snakes at Life is Short but Snakes are Long