Micrelaps muelleri
| Micrelaps muelleri | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Atractaspididae |
| Genus: | Micrelaps |
| Species: | M. muelleri |
| Binomial name | |
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Micrelaps muelleri Boettger, 1880 |
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Micrelaps muelleri is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the family Atractaspididae. The species is endemic to the Middle East.
No subspecies are currently recognized.Micrelaps muelleri is the type species for the genus Micrelaps.
The specific name, muelleri, is in honor of Swiss herpetologist Fritz Müller.
It is found in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Micrelaps muelleri is black, with whitish zigzag-edged rings, which may be narrower or wider than the spaces between them, mostly interrupted ventrally.
Adults may attain 40.5 cm (15.9 in) in total length, with a tail 3 cm (1 1⁄8 in) long.
Dorsal scales smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 15 rows. Ventrals 251-275; anal plate divided; subcaudals 26-32, also divided.
Head very flattened. Rostral nearly twice as broad as deep, just visible from above. Internasals a little broader than long, shorter than the prefrontals. Frontal small, not broader than the supraocular, 1⅔ times as long as broad, hardly as long as its distance from the rostral, half as long as the parietals. Supraocular as long as broad. A small postocular, in contact with the first temporal. Temporals 1+1 or 1+2. Seven upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye. Three or four lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shield. Anterior chin shields as long as the posterior chin shields.
Its preferred habitat includes Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, and arable land.
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Wikipedia