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Elaphe carinata (GÜNTHER, 1864)

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesElaphe carinata carinata GÜNTHER 1864
Elaphe carinata yonaguniensis TAKARA 1962 
Common NamesE: Taiwan Stink Snake
G: Gekielte Kletternatter
Chinese: 王锦蛇 
SynonymPhyllophis carinata GÜNTHER 1864: 298
Phyllophis carinata — GÜNTHER 1888: 170
Elaphe carinata — STEJNEGER 1898
Coluber phyllophis BOULENGER 1891: 280
Coluber phyllophis BOULENGER 1894: 55
Coluber (Elaphis) phyllophis — MÜLLER 1895: 203
Spaniopholis Souliei MOCQUARD 1897
Spaniopholis Souliei — WALL 1903: 93
Spaniopholis kreyenbergi MÜLLER 1907
Elaphe carinata — STEJNEGER 1907: 308
Elaphe osborni SCHMIDT 1925: 3
Coluber camillo-schneideri VOGT 1927
Elaphe carinata souliei — MELL 1931 [1929]
Elaphe kreyenbergi kreyenbergi — MELL 1931 [1929]
Elaphe kreyenbergi osborni — MELL 1931 [1929]
Elaphe carinata — MAKI 1931
Elaphe carinata — SMITH 1943: 155
Elaphe carinata deqinensis YANG & SU 1983
Elaphe carinata deqenensis YANG & SU 1984
Elaphe carinata — SCHULZ 1996: 87
Elaphe carinata — UTIGER et al. 2002
Elaphe carinata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 261
Elaphe carinata — WANG et al. 2022

Elaphe carinata yonaguniensis TAKARA 1962
Elaphe carinata yonaguniensis — GORIS & MAEDA 2004: 227
Elaphe carinata yonaguniensis — JANSEN & SHEPHERD 2019 
DistributionN Vietnam (Hong River),
Taiwan (incl. Lanyu),
China (northward to Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu; Guangdong, Fuktien, Jiangxi, Chekiang, Kiangsu, Anhwei, Hupeh, Sichuan, Yunnan; south to Huang He River, Fujian),
Japan (Ryukyu islands incl. Senkaku group)

Type locality: China (Günther, 1864); restricted to Lu Shan, south of Jiujiang (= Kiu Kiang), on Lake Poyang, Jiangxi, China, by Schulz, 1992.

deqenensis: Deqin County, Yunnan, China; restricted to a small area in Yunnan (Deqin and Weixi counties)
.
yonaguniensis: Japan (Ryukyu islands incl. Senkaku group), Taiwan.

Elevation 100-2500 m.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: unknown (fide NGUYEN et al. 2009).
Holotype: URJ (Agr. & Home Econo. Divi. Univ. Ryukyus), number 6, adult female, leg. S. MlYARA, March 27,1959 (cited after Schulz 1996: 92) [yonaguniensis] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2195 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentThe original description is available online (see link below). This species shows a marked ontological shift from striped to banded (see Guo et al. 2012 for photos).

Subspecies: Elaphe carinata deqenensis YANG & SU 1984 has been synonymized with E. c. carinata by Guo et al. 2012.

Conservation: E. c. yonaguniensis is classified as “vulnerable” in Japan (Ota 2000).

Genome: Fang et al. 2023 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “carinatus” = keeled (like a ship). 
References
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  • Fan, J., Huang, R., Yang, D., Gong, Y., Cui, Z., Wang, X., ... & Huang, S. 2023. Genome assembly and annotation of the king ratsnake, Elaphe carinata. Gigabyte, 2023, 1-11
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