Added 11 January 2014.
Asian colubrids often found in mountain terrain.
Boulenger gives the characteristics of the genus as follows: maxillary teeth 22-25, small, equal; mandibular teeth equal; head not distinct from neck; eye small, with round or vertically subelliptic pupil; nostril rather large, pierced in the anterior of two nasals; posterior nasal concave; no preocular, loreal extending from nasals to eye; postoculars not distinct from anterior temporals; body cylindrical, slender; scales lanceolate, feebly imbricate, keeled, without apical pits, in 21-25 rows; ventrals rounded; tail long, subcaudals single; hypapophyses developed throughout the vertebral column.
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Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
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Achalinus |
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A. ater |
Bourret's Odd-Scaled Snake |
Vietnam, China (Guizhou, Guangxi) |
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A. formosanus |
Speckle-Headed Whipsnake |
Taiwan, Japan (Kalimantan) |
TL 86 cm; SVL 72 cm |
Scalation details: rostral small, broader than deep, not visible from above; suture between internasals a little shorter than that between the prefrontals; frontal slightly broader than long, three times as broad as the supraocular, about half as long as the parietals; loreal nearly three times as long as deep; temporals 2+2, upper anterior in contact with eye; 3 shields bordering parietals on each side; 6 supralabials, of which 1st very small, 4th and 5th enter eye, 6th very elongate; 2 pairs of large chin-shields, immediately followed by ventrals; scales unicarinate, in 27 rows; 173 ventrals; anal undivided; 64 subcaudals. Other: head small, one and two-thirds as long as broad. Coloration: blackish above; outer scales pale in centre; labial, ventral and caudal shields yellowish white, with blackish edges. [SOURCE: Boulenger 1908] |
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A. f. formosanus |
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A. f. chigirai |
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A. hainanus |
Hainan Odd-Scaled Snake |
China (Hainan) |
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Similar to A. rufescens but differs in having only one anterior temporal, upper tertiary temporals contacting each other mesially without an interoccipital, and more ventrals. Scalation details: seam between internasals as long as that between the prefrontals; parietals long, anterolaterally entering between supraocular and temporals, and may or may not reach upper posterior edge of the eye; temporals in 3 rows, 1+2+3, though sometimes 4 posterior temporals may be present; uppermost posterior temporals in broad contact with parietals, and not separated from interoccipital; supralabials gradually increase in size from front to back, 6th being the longest; 5 infralabials with 3 anterior pairs in contact with anterior chin shield, 2 pairs of chin shields the same size, almost rectangular in shape; dorsal scales even keeled except smooth D1 scales; anal undivided. Other: eye small, pupil almost circular. Coloration (in preservative): tip of snout and top of head indigo grey; temporal region and edges of labials brownish grey; dorsal areas of body and tail lighter than top of head; belly greyish-white, base of each ventral scale darker; entire body has metallic luster. [SOURCE: Koshikawa] |
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A. jinggangensis |
Zong's Odd-Scaled Snake |
China (Jiangxi) |
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Originally classified as an Achalinopsis species. |
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A. meiguensis |
Szechuan Odd-Scaled Snake |
China (W Sichuan, Yunnan) |
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A. niger |
Black Odd-Scaled Snake |
Taiwan |
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A. rufescens |
Boulenger's Odd-Scaled Snake |
China (Hong Kong, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Fujian), Vietnam |
SVL 76cm (m), 101cm (f) |
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A. spinalis |
Peters' Odd-Scaled Snake |
N Vietnam, Japan (inc. Kyushu, Honshu and Ryukyu Islands), C China |
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A. werneri |
Anami Odd-Scaled Snake |
Japan |
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“Description of a new Frog and a new Snake from Formosa,” G A Boulenger FRS, Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Volume 8(2), 1908. Gives description of A. formosanus.
Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna. Volume X, Amphibians and Reptiles, Prof. Angel C Alcala, Natural Resources Management Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources and University of the Philippines, 1986. Very useful field guide to the herps of this area, which is usually under-represented in literature. One slight drawback is that the photographs are black-and-white and the descriptions of colour for many species are drawn from preserved specimens: otherwise this book is to be recommended if you can obtain a copy. We acknowledge our debt to this book for the details given in this section.
Snakes of the World, Chris Mattison, Blandford Press.
Wikipedia entry is quite useful for an overview of the genus.
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