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Elaphe climacophora (BOIE, 1826)

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesJapanese: Aodaisho, Japanese Ratsnake
G: Insel Kletternatter
Russian: Островной полоз 
SynonymColuber climacophorus BOIE 1826: 210
Coluber virgatus SCHLEGEL 1837: 146 (fide STEJNEGER 1907)
Coluber quadrivirgatus TEMMINCK & SCHLEGEL 1837 (in error fide STEJNEGER 1907)
Elaphis virgatus — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 261
Coluber climacophorus — BOULENGER 1894: 54
Elaphe climacophora — STEJNEGER 1907: 324
Elaphe climacophora — MAKI 1931
Elaphe climacophora — RENDAHL 1933
Elaphe climacophora — SCHULZ 1996: 95
Elaphe climacophora — UTIGER et al. 2002
Elaphe climacophora — WALLACH et al. 2014: 261 
DistributionJapan (Yakushima, Tanegashima, Kyushu, Tsushima, Shikoku, Honshu, Hokkaido, Ryukyu Islands),
Kunashir (Kurile Islands group, Russia)

Type locality: Japan (Boie, 1826)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: RMNH RENA 382, RMNH RENA.386, RMNH RENA.47577-81 (old registration number RMNH RENA.386). collector. Ph. P. von Siebold, Japan 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (3154 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentHabitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). 
References
  • Alexander, Donald R.;Diener, Richard A. 1958. A collection of amphibians and reptiles from Japan. Copeia 1958 (3): 218-219 - get paper here
  • Ananjeva, NB, Orlov NL; Khalikov RG; Darevsky IS; Ryabov IS & Barabanov AV 2006. The Reptiles of North Eurasia. Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, Conservation Status [this comprises the territory of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia]. Pensoft Series Faunistica 47, 250 pp.
  • Boie. H. 1826. Merkmale einiger japanischer Lurche. lsis von Oken, Jena. 18-19: 203 - 216 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1894. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), London, xi, 382 pp. - get paper here
  • Choate, L.D. 1963. An albino population of Elaphe climacophora from Iwakuni, Japan Herpetologica 18 (4): 260-262. - get paper here
  • Diefenbach, C.O. & S.G. Emslie 1971. Cues influencing the direction of prey ingestion of the Japanese snake, Elaphe climacophora Herpetologica 27 (4): 461-466. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M.C., G. BIBRON & A.H.A. DUMÉRIL 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1). Paris, xvi + 780 S. - get paper here
  • Dunaev E.A., Orlova V.F. 2017. Amphibians and reptiles of Russia. Atlas and determination. 2nd. ed. Moscow: Phyton XXI, 328 p
  • Fukada, H. 1978. Growth and Maturity of the Japanese Rat Snake, Elaphe climacophora (Reptilia, Serpentes, Colubridae) Journal of Herpetology 12 (3): 269-274. - get paper here
  • Gans, Carl; Oshima, Masamitsu 1952. Adaptations for egg eating in the snake Elaphe climacophora (Boie). American Museum Novitates (1952): 1-16 - get paper here
  • Goris, R.C. & Maeda, N. 2004. Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Japan. Krieger, Malabar, 285 pp.
  • Hadley, Wayne F. and Carl Gans 1972. Convergent Ontogenetic Change of Color Pattern in Elaphe climacophora (Colubridae: Reptilia). Journal of Herpetology 6 (1): 75-78 - get paper here
  • Harrington, Sean M; Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane 2018. Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 125 (1): 61–71 - get paper here
  • Hasegawa, Masami and Akira Mori 2023. Giant Snakes and Tiny Seabirds on a Small Japanese Island. In: Lillywhite & Martins, eds., Islands and snakes, vol. II. Oxford University Press, p. 100 ff - get paper here
  • Helfenberger, Notker 2001. Phylogenetic relationship of Old World Ratsnakes based on visceral organ topography, osteology, and allozyme variation. Russ. J. Herpetol. (Suppl.): 1-56 - get paper here
  • Hoer, K. 2013. 27 Jahre Terrarianer – eine Zeitreise. Ophidia 7 (1): 25-33 - get paper here
  • Itoh, Masahiro; Sasaki, Motomichi; Makino, Sajiro. 1970. The chromosomes of some Japanese snakes, with special regard to sexual dimorphism. Japanese Journal of Genetics 45(2):121-128 - get paper here
  • Iwanishi, Shuzo; Shohei Zaitsu, Hiroki Shibata and Eiji Nitasaka 2018. An albino mutant of the Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) carries a nonsense mutation in the tyrosinase gene. Genes Genet. Syst. - get paper here
  • Maki, M. 1931. Monograph of the Snakes of Japan. Dai-ichi Shobo, Tokyo. (1), 7, 240 pages (expanded edition 1933)
  • Mattison, Chris 2007. The New Encyclopedia of Snakes. Princeton University Press
  • Mori, Akira 1994. Ecological and morphological characteristics of the Japanese rat snake, Elaphe climacophora, on Kam-Muri-Jima Island: A possible case of insular gigantism. The Snake 26 (1): 11-18
  • Mori, Akira and Eiko Nagata 2016. Relying on a Single Anuran Species: Feeding Ecology of a Snake Community on Kinkasan Island, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Current Herpetology Aug 2016, Vol. 35, No. 2: 106-114. - get paper here
  • Mori,M. 1982. Japans Schlangen, Vols. 1-3 (80, 102, 123 pp.). Tokyo (Igaku-Shoin Ltd.) [bilingual edition in German and Japanese]
  • Moriyama, Jun; Hirohiko Takeuchi, Akira Ogura-Katayama, Tsutomu Hikida 2018. Phylogeography of the Japanese ratsnake, Elaphe climacophora (Serpentes: Colubridate): impacts of Pleistocene climatic oscillations and sea-level fluctuations on geographical range. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, bly030 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Rendahl, Hialmar 1933. Zur Kenntnis der Reptilien und Amphibien der Kurilen. Arkiv för Zoologi 25 (7): 1-7
  • Schlegel, H. 1837. Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. Partie Descriptive. La Haye (J. Kips, J. HZ. et W. P. van Stockum), 606 S. + xvi - get paper here
  • Schulz, K. D. 1996. Eine Monographie der Schlangengattung Elaphe Fitzinger. Bushmaster, Berg (CH): 1-460
  • Schulz, Klaus Dieter 1985. Die hinterasiatischen Kletternattern der Gattung Elaphe. Teil II Elaphe climacophora (Boie, 1826). Sauria 7 (3): 7-8 - get paper here
  • Schulz, Klaus Dieter 1989. Die hinterasiatischen Kletternattern der Gattung Elaphe. Teil 2: Elaphe climacophora. Litteratura Serpentium 9 (2): 85-86 - get paper here
  • Schulz, Klaus-Dieter 1996. A monograph of the colubrid snakes of the genus Elaphe Fitzinger. Koeltz Scientific Books, 439 pp.
  • Staniszewski, M.S. 2003. Field trip to Japan. Part II: Western Honshu and subtropical Islands. Reptilia (GB) (26): 48-51 - get paper here
  • Stejneger, LEONHARD H. 1907. Herpetology of Japan and adjacent territory. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 58: xx, 1-577 - get paper here
  • Temminck, C.J., and H. Schlegel. 1835. Vol. III Reptilia. xxii + 144 p., 27 pls. In: P.F. Von Siebold, Fauna Japonica sive Descriptio animalium, quae in itinere per Japonianum, jussu et auspiciis superiorum, qui summum in India Batava Imperium tenent, suscepto, annis 1823-1830 colleget, n J.G. Lalau, Leiden [1838]. [see note in species entry] - get paper here
  • Utiger, Urs, Notker Helfenberger, Beat Schätti, Catherine Schmidt, Markus Ruf and Vincent Ziswiler 2002. Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old World and New World ratsnakes, Elaphe Auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 9 (2): 105-124. - get paper here
  • 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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