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Calliophis gracilis GRAY, 1834

IUCN Red List - Calliophis gracilis - Data Deficient, DD
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Higher TaxaElapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Gray Coral Snake, Spotted Coral Snake
G: Gefleckte korallenotter 
SynonymCalliophis gracilis GRAY in GRAY & HARDWICKE 1834: 86
Callophis gracilis — GÜNTHER 1864
Elaps nigromaculatus CANTOR 1839 (fide BOULENGER 1896)
Callophis gracilis — BOULENGER 1896: 396
Callophis gracilis — TWEEDIE 1950
Calliophis gracilis — TAYLOR 1965: 969
Calliophis gracilis — WELCH 1994: 39
Calliophis gracilis — SLOWINSKI, BOUNDY & LAWSON 2001
Calliophis gracilis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 145 
DistributionS Thailand, W Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, Aceh, Johor, Pulau Pinang, Selangor), Singapore

Type locality: “Penang” [= Penang Is., Pinang State, NW
Malay Peninsula, 5°22’N, 100°14’E] via lectotype
designation.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.16.17 (T. Hardwicke, 1756 –1823). M.A. Smith (1943: 530) designated pl. 120 in T. Hardwicke’s collection a lectotype fide Wallach et al. 2014: 145.
Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.19.17 (94.6.25.13), according to BMNH catalogue this is the type of [nigromaculatus] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A very slender gray snake with a narrow median black line and four lateral black lines. A pair of large nuchal spots followed by a paired series of 25, rounded dorsolateral spots on body, each covering four or five scales; at intervals between pairs a single series of smaller spots interrupts the median black line; tail with two wider complete bands; tail ending bluntly in a large rounded black scale. Venter barred with 50 deep black spots separated by somewhat larger ivory-white bars; under tail the ivory-white spaces are wider; laterally on tail only two black stripes. (Taylor 1965: 969)


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CommentVenomous!

Type species: Calliophis gracilis is the type species of the genus Calliophis GRAY 1834. Note that other authors, e.g. Leviton et al. 2014: 493, consider Calliophis intestinalis as type species of the genus. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “gracilis” = narrow, small, gracile.

The genus is named after Greek kallos = beauty, ornament, and Greek ophis = snake, for the beautiful coloration of many species in this genus (although the type species is particularly colorful, it does have a nice pattern). Calliophis is masculine.
Named after Latin “gracilis”, meaning small or lanky, or gracile. 
References
  • Blackburn, D.G. 1993. STANDARDIZED CRITERIA FOR THE RECOGNITION OF REPRODUCTIVE MODES IN SQUAMATE REPTILES. Herpetologica 49 (1): 118-132 - get paper here
  • Chan-ard, T., Parr, J.W.K. & Nabhitabhata, J. 2015. A field guide to the reptiles of Thailand. Oxford University Press, NY, 352 pp. [see book reviews by Pauwels & Grismer 2015 and Hikida 2015 for corrections] - get paper here
  • David,P. & Vogel, G. 1996. The snakes of Sumatra. An annotated checklist and key with natural history notes. Bücher Kreth, Frankfurt/M.
  • FIGUEROA, ALEX; MARTYN E.Y. LOW, KELVIN K.P. LIM 2023. Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution. Zootaxa 5287 (1): 001–378 - get paper here
  • Gray. J. E. 1834. Illustrations of Indian Zoology, chiefly selected from the collection of Major - General Hardwicke. Vol. 2. London (1833-1834): 263 pp., 95 plates - get paper here
  • Slowinski, Joseph B.; Boundy, Jeff & Lawson,R. 2001. The phylogenetic relationships of Asian coral snakes (Elapidae: Calliophis and Maticora) based on morphological and molecular characters. Herpetologica 57 (2): 233-245 - get paper here
  • Smith, E.N.; KELUM MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI & RUCHIRA SOMAWEERA 2008. A new species of coralsnake of the genus Calliophis (Squamata: Elapidae) from the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 1847: 19–33 - get paper here
  • Taylor,E.H. 1965. The serpents of Thailand and adjacent waters. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 45 (9): 609-1096 - get paper here
  • TEYNIÉ, ALEXANDRE; PATRICK DAVID, & ANNEMARIE OHLER 2010. Note on a collection of Amphibians and Reptiles from Western Sumatra (Indonesia), with the description of a new species of the genus Bufo. Zootaxa 2416: 1–43 - get paper here
  • Tweedie, M.W.F. 1950. Notes on Malayan reptiles, No.2. Bull. Raffles Mus. No 23: 191-199
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
 
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