Formosa Wolf Snake

About the Formosa Wolf Snake

Lycodon ruhstrati, also known as Ruhstrat's wolf snake, the mountain wolf snake, or the Formosa wolf snake, is a species of non-venomous colubrid snake found in Taiwan, southern and eastern China, and northern Vietnam. The specific name, ruhstrati, was chosen to honor German-born Ernst Konrad A. Ruhstrat (died 1913), of the Imperial Chinese Customs Service, who collected the type specimens of this species in southern Taiwan.

Lycodon ruhstrati is a member of the genus Lycodon, a genus of snakes commonly known as wolf snakes. The genus belongs to the snake family Colubridae. Colubridae is the largest snake family, with member genera and species being found on every continent except Antarctica.

The genus Lycodon has at times been placed in the genus Oligodon, but this classification is under dispute. The species Lycodon multifasciatus was previously listed as a subspecies of L. ruhstrati, being classified as Lycodon ruhstrati multifasciatus in 1984. However, in 2008 it was classified as a separate species as Lycodon multifasciatus. The species Dinodon futsingensis, first described in 1928, was synonymised with Lycodon ruhstrati in 1929. However, in 2009 it was recognized... Wikipedia →