P. chamissonis has a large distribution in Chile, from Paposo to Valdivia.[1]
Description
Usually, P. chamissonis is gray, with black and white longitudinal stripes on the body. It is a medium-sized snake, which usually reaches 1.4 m (4.6 ft) in total length (including tail).[citation needed]
The length of the tail is 25-28.5 % of the total length. There are 8 upper labials, the 4th and 5th entering the eye. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 19 rows at midbody. Ventrals 179-225; anal plate divided; subcaudals 100-122.[6]
Habitat
P. chamissonis lives in a large variety of habitats, at altitudes from sea level to 2,300 m (7,500 ft).[1]
Diet
The diet of P. chamissonis is mainly composed of little rodents, birds, amphibians, and other smaller reptiles.[1] For example, it especially preys upon lizards of the genusLiolaemus.[1]
^Sallaberry-Pincheira N, Garin CF, González-Acuña D, Sallaberry MA, Vianna JA (2011). "Genetic Divergence of Chilean long-tailed snake (Philodryas chamissonis) across latitudes: conservation threats for different lineages". Diversity and Distribution17: 152-162.
^"Philodryas chamissonis ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Philodryas chamissonis, p. 51).
^Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Dromicus chamissonis, pp. 119-120).
^Neira P, Jofré L, Oschilewski D, Subercaseaux B, Muñoz N (2007). "Mordedura por Philodryas chamissonis. Presentación de un caso y revisión de la literatura (Snake bite by Philodryas chamissonis: a case presentation and literature review)". Revista chilena de infectología24 (3): 236-241. (in Spanish).
Further reading
Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN0-87666-912-7. (Dromicus chamissonis, p. 95).
Wiegmann AFA (1835). "Beiträge zur Zoologie, Gesammelt auf einer Reise um die Erde. Siebente Abhandlung. Amphibien ". Nova Acta Physico-Medica Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum (Wrocław and Bonn) 17: 185-268 + Plates XIII-XXII. (Coronella chamissonis, new species, pp. 246–250 + Plate XIX). (in German and Latin).