赤链蛇Lycodon rufozonatum

58.赤链蛇Lycodon rufozonatum

地方名:火赤链

形态特征:头较扁平,略呈椭圆形。瞳孔直立椭圆状,体全长600~1500mm。头体背黑或黑褐色,鳞缘红色,枕部有红色“∧”斑,背部具70个以上红色横斑,每斑1~2鳞宽,体侧具红、黑相间的斑点。腹面淡黄色或乳白色,外侧有黑褐色斑点,体后更为密集。上唇鳞多为8枚,呈2-3-3式,下唇鳞多为10枚。背鳞多19-17-15行,平滑或仅体后段背中央一至数行起弱棱。腹鳞187~225枚,尾下鳞雄性55~85对,肛鳞完整。

生活习性:赤链蛇是分布广泛的无毒蛇,性凶猛,生活于山地、丘陵及平原地带,多活动于稻田、农田、池塘、民宅以及荒地、坟堆草丛,常傍晚及夜间活动,食性广,以鱼类、蛙类、蜥蜴、蛇类、鸟类和鼠类为食。卵生,每产10枚左右。

地理分布:除内蒙古、宁夏、新疆、青海、西藏及香港外的其他各省区均有分布;国外分布于朝鲜、老挝、越南北部。

环渤海地区分布:均有分布。

生存现状:无危(LC)。

Squamata Colubridae Lycodon

58.Lycodon rufozonatum

Description Up to 600-1,500mm TOL, head is flattened and slightly in oval-shape.Pupils upright in oval shape; the head is black or dark brown; the scales are red, with red spots in“∧”-shape at the occipital part; the dorsum has more than 70 red lateral spots,each spot is about 1-2 scales wide; body sides have red and black spots; ventral surface is yellowish or milky white, with dark brown spots on the outside, denser at the back of the body; 8 supralabials are arranged in 2-2-3 rows and 10 infralabials.Dorsal scales are mostly smooth and arranged in 19-17-15 rows, or only with one or several rows of soft tubercles at the dorsum end; 187-225 ventral scales; males have 55-85 pairs of subcaudals;anal plate is complete.

Behaviour They are widely spread and non-venomous species.They are ferocious and live in mountains, hills and plains.They move around in the rice fields, farmlands, ponds,houses and wastelands, graveyard grass, and they often move in the evening and at nights.They have a wide range of foods; they feed on genus, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds and rats.They are ovoviviparous, and they produce about 10 eggs at a time.

Distribution China: nearly in every province, except in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia,Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet and Hong Kong.At aboard: in North Korea, Laos and northern Vietnam.Distribution around Bohai Sea: everywhere.

Conservation Least Concern (LC).