Red-banded Snake

About the Red-banded Snake

Lycodon rufozonatus is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to East Asia. It is medium-sized, nocturnal, and is considered non-venomous. Two subspecies are recognised: one of which, L. r. walli, is restricted to the Ryukyu Archipelago; the other, L. r. rufozonatus (Cantor 1842), is found only in Korea & China.

The subspecific name, walli, is in honor of British herpetologist Frank Wall. Lycodon rufozonatus typically grows to a total length (including tail) of around 70 centimetres (28 in), reaching up to 130 cm (51 in) in extreme cases. The head is long and relatively flat, and somewhat separate from the neck. The medium-sized eyes bulge slightly and have vertical pupils. The ventral scales have a strong keel, while the dorsal scales are only faintly keeled; the scale count is typically 17:17:15, but can be up to 21:19:17.

Lycodon rufozonatus is found across a large part of East Asia, from the Korean Peninsula in the north (and extending just into easternmost Russia) to northern Laos and Vietnam in the south; the bulk of its range in found in eastern China. The continental populations are all placed... Wikipedia →