>Maias at 04:28, 1 June 2021

2021-06-01T04:28:21Z

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{{Short description|A species of venomous snake}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Castoe's coral snake
|status =
|status_system =
|status_ref =
|genus = Calliophis
|species = castoe
|authority = Smith et al., 2012<ref name=":0" />
|synonyms =
}}

'''''Calliophis castoe''''', or '''Castoe's coral snake''', is a [[species]] of [[venomous snake]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Elapidae]].<ref name=RDB/> The species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Western Ghats]] in western peninsular [[India]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=Eric N.|last2=Ogale|first2=Hemant|last3=Deepak|first3=V.|last4=Giri|first4=Varad B.|date=2012-08-24|title=A new species of coralsnake of the genus ''Calliophis'' (Squamata: Elapidae) from the west coast of peninsular India|url=https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.3437.1.5|journal=Zootaxa|volume=3437|issue=1|pages=51|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3437.1.5|issn=1175-5334|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Etymology==
''C. castoe'' is named after biologist, Todd A. Castoe.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=RDB/>

==Geographic range==
Castoe's coral snake is found in semi-evergreen and wet forests in the central part of [[Western Ghats]] across [[Maharashtra]], [[Goa]] and [[Karnataka]].<ref name=":0" /> Despite its occurrence in lowland and mountainous parts of relatively well-populated areas, it was described only in 2009. Earlier collectors such as [[Herbert Musgrave Phipson|Phipson]] and [[Frank Wall (herpetologist)|Wall]] had collected dark specimens of ''[[Calliophis nigrescens|C. nigrescens]]'' from locations that now record this species, which have now been identified as this species.<ref name=":0" /> In 1887, in a paper describing 10 venomous snakes of the (then) [[Bombay Presidency]], [[Herbert Musgrave Phipson|Phipson]] describes a specimen of what he considered to be ''[[Calliophis nigrescens]]'' collected by [[George William Vidal|Vidal]] in [[Karwar|Carwar (now Karwar in Uttara Kannada)]] and deposited in the [[Bombay Natural History Society]]. Phipson describes the snake as having black upper parts and uniformly red under-parts, possibly based on notes sent in a telegram by Vidal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Phipson |first=H.M.|title=The poisonous snakes of the Bombay presidency |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15884086|journal=[[Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society]]|volume=2|pages=244–250 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}</ref> Later on Vidal describes the same specimen in a paper on venomous snakes of [[Uttara Kannada|North Kanara]] as ''C. nigrescens.''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Vidal|first=G. W.|date=1890|title=A list of the venomous snakes of Kanara; with remarks as to the imperfections of existing records of the distribution of snakes, and facts and statistics showing the influence of ''Echis carinata'' on the death-rate of the Bombay Presidency.|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2081408|journal=[[Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society]]|volume=5|pages=64–71|via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}</ref>

== Description ==
Adult males measure {{convert|536|–|540|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} in total length. The snake is unique from other coral snakes in the region because it lacks a pattern on its vinaceous-brown [[Dorsum (anatomy)|dorsum]], and it has a white lower lip with a salmon color to flame scarlet ventral and lateral areas.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=RDB/>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species |genus=Calliophis |species=castoe |accessdate=30 March 2021}}</ref>
}}



{{Taxonbar|from=Q2934213}}

[[Category:Calliophis|castoe]]
[[Category:Snakes of Asia]]
[[Category:Reptiles of India]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 2012]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Veerappan Deepak]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Varad B. Giri]]

Calliophis castoe - Revision history

>Maias at 04:28, 1 June 2021