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Lycodon bicolor
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<h2 id="geographic-range">Geographic range</h2> <p><i>L. bicolor</i> is restricted to the western <a href="/facts/Himalayas/eRSf0yyE">Himalayas</a>, ranging from <a href="/facts/Uttarakhand/n3juS1z4">Uttarakhand</a> in <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a> east through <a href="/facts/Jammu_and_Kashmir_(union_territory)/F1FbqQpw">Jammu & Kashmir</a> to <a href="/facts/Azad_Kashmir/WSsgCgRd">POK</a> in <a href="/facts/Pakistan/cbIsvJy1">Pakistan</a>. It was originally described from <a href="/facts/Mussoorie/kpCX6eQr">Mussoorie</a>, but was not found again at its <a href="/facts/Type_(biology)/mTM1beKX">type locality</a> for over 112 years until it was rediscovered in 2019 during survey work in Binog Wildlife Sanctuary; these findings were reported in 2021. As Mussoorie is a major tourist destination, the Mussoorie wolf snakes may be threatened by <a href="/facts/Traffic_flow/uxRYw4EH">vehicular traffic</a>, <a href="/facts/Pollution/JRagxumQ">pollution</a>, and other <a href="/facts/Tourism/x47vNhHj">tourism</a>-related activities near the sanctuary; due to this, a detailed status survey and further research into the species are required.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p><i>L. bicolor</i> is a small snake. Adults may attain a total length of 36.5 cm (14.4 in), which includes a tail 6.5 cm (2.6 in) long. <a href="/facts/Dorsum_(anatomy)/IpJ1fq2f">Dorsally</a>, it is brown, with a network of white lines. Ventrally, it is uniformly white, or white with brown-edged <a href="/facts/Ventral_scales/L3IoaCEX">ventrals</a>. The <a href="/facts/Dorsal_scales/g8coh9vl">dorsal scales</a> are smooth, and are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. The <a href="/facts/Anal_scale/xXjFErDq">anal plate</a> is divided.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="reproduction">Reproduction</h2> <p><i>L. bicolor</i> is <a href="/facts/Oviparity/oSgSIVHY">oviparous</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Lanza B (1999). "A new species of <i>Lycodon</i> from the Philippines, with a key to the genus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae)". <i>Tropical Zoology</i> 12: 89–104.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Malcolm_Arthur_Smith/1M9WF3f0">Smith MA</a> (1943). <i>The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.</i> London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (<i>Lycodon mackinnoni</i>, p. 263).</li> <li><a href="/facts/Frank_Wall_(herpetologist)/mVCSS1xz">Wall F</a> (1906). "A New Himalayan Snake (<i>Lycodon mackinnoni</i> )". <i>J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.</i> 17: 29–30.</li> <li>Wall F (1923). "A Hand-list of the Snakes of the Indian Empire. Part 2". <i>J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.</i> 29 (3): 598–632. (<i>Ophites mackinnoni</i>, p. 614).</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Wall (1906). <a href="/wiki/Frank_Wall_(herpetologist)" target="_blank">/wiki/Frank_Wall_(herpetologist)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Nawani, Swati; Deepak, V.; Gautam, Kumudani Bala; Gupta, Sandeep Kumar; Boruah, Bitupan; Das, Abhijit (2021-05-04). "Systematic status of the rare Himalayan wolf snake Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906 (Serpentes: Colubridae)". Zootaxa. 4966 (3): 305–320. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4966.3.3. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 34186615. S2CID 235509432. <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4966.3.3" target="_blank">https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4966.3.3</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Smith MA (1943). <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Species Lycodon mackinnoni at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org. <a href="http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species.php?genus=Lycodon&species=mackinnoni" target="_blank">http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species.php?genus=Lycodon&species=mackinnoni</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>