I. Basic information

[Chinese name]Mountain iron-headed snake

[Latin name]Ovophis monticola

【Another name】Mangosteen leaf green, Alishan tortoise shell flower, black-spotted bamboo leaf green

[Kingdom] Animalia

[Door] Chordate

【 Class: Reptiles

[Order] Squamata

[Suborder] Snakes

[Family] Viperidae

[Genus] Ironhead genus

[Species] Mountain Ironhead snake

[Named by] Gunther

[Named time] 1864

II. Distribution range

The distribution range of the mountain soldering iron head snake is very wide in China, mainly concentrated in the southern region, in Zhejiang, Anhui, Taiwan, Hunan, Guangdong, Hong Kong, They can be found in Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Gansu, and Tibet. In foreign countries, they are distributed in the eastern part of the Himalayas, including Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, India, eastward through Myanmar, Thailand to the countries of the Indo-China Peninsula, and southward to Malaysia.

III. Appearance characteristics

The body of the mountain solder-head snake is medium, and the length is about 50~70cm; the head is triangular and has cheek sockets. It looks like a soldering iron; snout is narrow and round; eyes are small; body color is tan, with dark-brown irregular cloud-like spots on back and sides.

4. Living habits

1. Habitat: The alpine snake has a strong survival and can adapt to various environments. They generally live in mountainous areas ranging from 315 meters to 2,600 meters above sea level, including forests, thickets and grasslands. They can even be seen in mountainous and rocky desertified areas.

2. Diet: Snakes are carnivorous, mainly feeding on small mammals, frogs, and rodents.

3. Breeding method:

It takes 3 years to grow and become sexually mature. Their breeding period is very short, which lasts from late June to late July every year. It's over, and can lay 5-18 eggs at a time. In addition, female snakes have the habit of guarding their eggs, and the incubation period is usually 3 months.

V. Status of the population

Because of its high tolerance to habitats, currently, the mountain brand snake is relatively common in the distribution area, and the number of the population is not large. significant broad threat. However, this species has been included in the List of Beneficial or Important Economic and Scientific Research Terrestrial Wildlife Protected by the State issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000; China's Red List of Biodiversity - Vertebrate volume, assessed as Vulnerable (VU); IUCN Red List (2010): LC (Not Endangered)... If someone illegally hunts, they will be punished by law.

The above is all the introduction of the mountain soldering iron head snake. If you like it, you may continue to pay attention to this site.