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Lycodon striatus (SHAW, 1802)

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Northern Wolf Snake, Barred Wolf Snake 
SynonymColuber striatus SHAW 1802: 527
Coluber malignus DAUDIN 1803 (fide SMITH 1943)
Lycodon galathea DAUDIN 1803 (fide SMITH 1943)
Lycodon striatus — STOLICZKA 1870: 200
Lycodon striatus — WALL 1907: 110
Ophites striatus — WALL 1921
Lycodon striatus — WALL 1921: 147
Lycodon napei DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 384 (fide WALL 1921)
Lycodon striatus — BOULENGER 1893: 349
Lycodon striatus — SMITH 1943: 161
Lycodon striatus sinhaleyus DERANIYAGALA 1955
Lycodon striatus sinhaleyus — LANZA 1999
Lycodon striatus — LANZA 1999: 99
Lycodon striatus striatus — MURTHY 2010
Lycodon striatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 396
Lycodon striatus — AMARASINGHE et al. 2023 
DistributionSri Lanka, peninsular India (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, [A. Captain, pers. comm.], Punjab [Dino Aulakh, pers. comm.]), Pakistan, former USSR, S Turkmenistan (Kopet-Dagh), W Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, E/NE Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal

sinhaleyus: Sri Lanka

striatus: Pakistan

Type locality: Vizagapatam and Hyderabad (now Visakhapatnam; 17°41′12.54′′N, 83°13′06.53′′E, datum = WGS84; 169 m above sea level), Andhra Pradesh, India.  
Reproductionoviparous. Eggs, 2 to 4 in number, 33 x 8 mm in size, are laid in July and August (Smith 1943). 
TypesHolotype: iconotype, based on 356 mm specimen figured in Russell, 1796: 22, pl. 16.
Holotype: NMSL 15 (Colombo Mus.) [sinhaleyus]
 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2955 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy partly after KHALIKOV & ANANJEVA (pers. comm.) and Amarasinghe et al. 2023. Lycodon striatus bicolor was elevated to full species status by Amarasinghe et al. 2023 who also synonymized sinhaleyus with striatus.

Distribution: For maps see Sindaco et al. 2013, Amarasinghe et al. 2023: 9 (Fig. 2).

Behavior: Wall states that it is timid in disposition and that be has never known one to strike, no matter what the provocation. Usually it makes no endeavour to escape, but coils itself up, and if touched or teased hides its head beneath its coils (Smith 1943). 
EtymologyNamed after Latin stria = groove, often for stripe or line, probably for the cross-bands. 
References
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