Sikkim false wolf snake Dinodon gammiei, Non Venomous
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Contributor:
ephotocorp / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
CC03PGFile size:
49.2 MB (2.6 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
5087 x 3378 px | 43.1 x 28.6 cm | 17 x 11.3 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
16 June 2010Location:
Sikkim, IndiaPhotographer:
Aamod ZambreMore information:
The Sikkim False Wolf Snake, Dinodon gammiei was first described by Blanford (1878) as Ophites gammiei from four specimens collected from Cinchona plantations near Darjeeling in the British Sikkim. Dinodon is an Indochinese genus having distribution in northeastern India (Smith 1943). Records on the distribution of herpetofauna from adjacent biogeographic realms into India are scarce, and there is need for accurate documentation, reporting and comparisons with museum collections. Dinodon gammiei was known only from Darjeeling Hills making it a highly restricted species until a recent report from Arunachal Pradesh, India (Mistry et al. 2007). Sikkim has no authentic reports of the species. However, it is listed in the reptile fauna of the State (Smith 1943; Waltner 1973; Shaw et al. 1999; Jha & Thapa 2002; Sanyal et al. 2006). In the Colonial period, Darjeeling Hills were considered as part of the greater Sikkim Himalaya (Gammie 1928). Therefore, the reptile fauna of Sikkim Himalaya was merely derived from that of the Darjeeling Hills. Mistry et al. (2007) even doubted the reported occurrence of this species in Sikkim because there was no specimen in the museum collections known from this state. This report confirms the occurrence of Dinodon gammiei in the northeastern Himalayan state, Sikkim.