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Oligodon cyclurus (CANTOR, 1839)

IUCN Red List - Oligodon cyclurus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Cantor's Kukri Snake
G: Variable Kukrinatter 
SynonymCoronella cyclura CANTOR 1839: 50
Coronella violacea CANTOR 1839
Simotes bicatenatus GÜNTHER 1864
Simotes cochinchinensis GÜNTHER 1864
Simotes brevicauda STEINDACHNER 1867
Simotes bicatenatus — ANDERSON 1871: 170
Simotes bicatenatus — STOLICZKA 1873
Simotes cyclurus — BOULENGER 1890
Simotes cyclurus — WALL 1908: 780
Simotes albocinctus dorsolateralis WALL 1909 (fide WAGNER, pers. comm.)
Simotes albocinctus var. dorsolateralis — WALL 1910
Holarchus cyclurus — SMITH 1920
Oligodon purpurascens WALL 1923 (non SCHLEGEL)
Simotes smithi WERNER 1925 (fide SMITH 1928)
Holarchus purpurascens — COCHRAN 1930
Holarchus violaceus — RENDAHL 1937
Oligodon cyclurus — SMITH 1943: 202
Oligodon cyclurus — TAYLOR 1965: 765
Oligodon cyclurus smithi — TAYLOR 1965: 765
Oligodon dorsolateralis — TAYLOR 1965: 763
Rhynchocalamus violaceus
Olygodon [sic] cyclurus — SCHULZ 1988
Oligodon dorsolateralis — DAS 1996: 58
Oligodon dorsolateralis — CHAN-ARD et al. 1999: 34
Oligodon dorsolateralis — PAUWELS et al. 2002
Oligodon cyclurus — GREEN et al. 2010
Oligodon cyclurus — DAVID et al. 2011
Oligodon cyclurus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 496 
DistributionIndia (Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland), Bhutan, Myanmar (= Burma), Thailand , Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal, Bangladesh

dorsolateralis: Thailand, Myanmar (= Burma), India (Meghalaya, Assam); Type locality: Jalpaiguri District.

Type locality: Bankok, Thailand [designated by CAMPDEN-MAIN 1970 as no type locality had been designated before]. Neotype locality: “Kaliganz, Rangpur District, Bangladesh”, now Subdistrict of Kaligunj, Lalmonirhat District, Bangladesh (DAVID et al. 2011).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesNeotype 2: BMNH 1940.3.4.41 (adult male), designated by DAVID et al. 2011. The neotype (USNM 72067) designated by CAMPDEN-MAIN 1970 is invalid (DAVID et al. 2011).
Holotype: no type designated fide Taylor 1965 [dorsolateralis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A rather large species of the genus reaching a length of 940 mm. variable, producing a variety of forms that should be treated as subspecies; scale formula, 21. 21, 17. (Taylor 1965: 765)


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CommentSynonymy tentatively (mostly) after SMITH 1943: 202. Oligodon kheriensis ACHARJI & RAY 1936 has been removed from the synonymy of Oligodon cyclurus by DAVID et al. 2011. Oligodon cyclurus smithi and O. c. superfluens (TAYLOR 1965) become synonyms of O. fasciolatus fide PAUWELS et al. (2003).

Types: Note that two neotypes have been designated: one by (CAMPDEN-MAIN 1970) and one by WAGNER (1975) in an unpublished thesis.

Similar species: Has been confused with O. fasciolatus, a population with 21 or 23 scale rows at midbody from SE Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. O. cylurus has 19 scale rows and is restricted to India, Bangladesh and Myanmar fide PAUWELS et al. 2002.

Distribution: Possibly in Bhutan (Lenz 2012). The report of O. cyclurus in China (Yunnan) actually represents O. fasciolatus fide Zhang et al. 2011.

Group: the Oligodon cyclurus species complex comprises seven species, including O. chinensis, O. culaochamensis, O. cyclurus, O. fasciolatus, O. formosanus, O. ocellatus, and O. saintgironsi (David et al. 2008).

Comparisons: for a comparison of members of the Oligodon cyclurus species complex see Nguyen et al. 2022: 563 (Table 2). 
EtymologyNamed after Greek kyklos = round, circular, and Greek oura = tail. 
References
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