Kaokoveld Wolf Snake
Lycophidion hellmichi
Hellmich's wolf snake (Lycophidion hellmichi), also known commonly as the Kaokoveld wolf snake, is a species of oviparous, nonvenomous snake, in the family Lamprophiidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
From the article Lycophidion hellmichi on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Lycophidion hellmichi has the following scalation. The first labial scale should be in contact with the postnasal scale(s). It has more than 190 ventral scales; with more than forty subcaudals in males, and more than thirty in females. Only one male specimen was collected, 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Etengua, Namibia. It was found to be 402 mm (15.8 in) in total length, from snout to tip of tail. The largest female, the holotype found in Kapolopopo, Angola, was 471 mm (18.5 in) in total length.
Range & habitat
Lycophidion hellmichi is found in southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia, though it is thought to have once had a larger geographic range that included the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Wikipedia: “Geographic range”
What it does
Lycophidion hellmichi likely preys upon geckos, skinks, and other small lizards, which it kills by constriction. Its lifespan is likely between fifteen and twenty years.
Wikipedia: “Diet, behavior and longevity”
In human culture
Hellmich's wolf snake was named after Walter Hellmich (1906-1974), a prominent German zoologist.
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Lycophidion hellmichi in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 29523.