Stegonotus guentheri, also known commonly as the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago ground snake and the Milne Bay ground snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Papua New Guinea.
Etymology
The specific name, guentheri, is in honor of German-British herpetologist Albert Günther.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of S. guentheri is forest, at altitudes from sea level to .
Description
S. guentheri is brown dorsally, and yellowish white ventrally. The dorsal scales are arranged in 15 rows throughout the length of the body.
Behavior
S. guentheri is terrestrial and nocturnal.
Reproduction
S. guentheri is oviparous.
References
Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1895). "On a Collection of Reptiles and Batrachians from Ferguson Island, D'Entrecasteaux Group, British New Guinea". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 16: 28âÂÂ32. (Stegonotus guentheri, new species, p. 31).
- , , O'Shea M (2018). "The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)". Zootaxa 4512 (1): 1âÂÂ73. (Stegonotus guentheri, p. 40).
- McDowell SB (1972). "The species of Stegonotus (Serpentes, Colubridae) in Papua New Guinea". Zoologische Mededelingen 47 (2): 6âÂÂ26. (Stegonotus guentheri, pp. 23âÂÂ24).
- O'Shea M (1996). A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea: The First Comprehensive Guide to the Snake Fauna of Papua New Guinea. (with a section on snakebite and its treatment in Papua New Guinea by Prof. David A. Warrell and Dr. David G. Lalloo). Port Moresby: Independent Publishing. xii + 239 pp. .