The forest vine snake (Thelotornis kirtlandii), also known commonly as the twig snake and the bird snake (as are other members of the genus Thelotornis), is a species of venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Africa.
| Forest vine snake | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Thelotornis |
| Species: | T. kirtlandii
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| Binomial name | |
| Thelotornis kirtlandii (Hallowell, 1844)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Taxonomy edit
The specific name, kirtlandii, is in honor of American naturalist Jared Potter Kirtland.[3]
Distribution and habitat edit
T. kirtlandii is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, south to a latitude of about 17° S. It has been recorded from Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.[2]
Behaviour and ecology edit
T. kirtlandii is known to eat small birds.
References edit
- ^ Trape, J.-F.; Luiselli, L.; Penner, J.; Rödel, M.-O.; Segniagbeto, G.; Wagner, P.; Branch, W.R.; Safari, I.; Chenga, J. (2021). "Thelotornis kirtlandii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T13265657A13265670. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T13265657A13265670.en. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Thelotornis kirtlandii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Thelotornis kirtlandi [sic]", p. 142).
Further reading edit
- Hallowell E (1844). "Descriptions of new species of African Reptiles". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 2: 58-62. (Leptophis kirtlandii, new species, p. 62).
- Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Hinkel, Harald; Menegon, Michele (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618.
External links edit
- Species Thelotornis kirtlandii at The Reptile Database
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