Archelaphe

{{Short description|Genus of snakes}} {{speciesbox | image = | image_caption = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Rao, D.-q. |author2=Jiang, J. |author3=Guo, P. |year=2018 |amends=2012 |title=''Archelaphe bella'' |article-number=e.T190611A127948509 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T190611A127948509.en}}</ref> | display_parents = 2 | genus = Archelaphe | parent_authority = Schulz, Wolfgang Böhme (zoologist) & Tillack, 2011 | species = bella | authority = (Stanley, 1917) | synonyms = {{specieslist |Coluber leonardi |Wall, 1921 |Coronella bella |Stanley, 1917 |Elaphe leonardi |(Wall, 1921) |Elaphe leonardi subsp. chapaensis |Bourret, 1934 |Elaphe leonardi subsp. leonardi |Wall, 1921 |Maculophis bella |(Stanley, 1917) |Maculophis bella subsp. chapaensis |(Bourret, 1934)}} | synonyms_ref = <ref name=GBIF>{{GBIF |title=''Archelaphe bella'' (Stanley, 1917) |id=7704677 |access-date=20 July 2024}}</ref> }}

'''''Archelaphe''''' is a genus of snake in the family Colubridae. The genus contains the sole species '''''Archelaphe bella''''', commonly known as the '''Bella rat snake''', which is endemic to Asia.<ref name=RDB/>

==Geographic range== ''A. bella'' is found in China, India, Myanmar, and Vietnam.<ref name=RDB/>

==Description== The dorsal pattern of ''A. bella'' resembles that of the North American corn snake (''Pantherophis guttatus'').<ref name=RDB/> The longest specimen of ''A. bella'' measured by M.A. Smith (1943) was a male with a total length of {{convert|81|cm|in|abbr=on}} which included a tail {{convert|12.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} long.

==Reproduction== ''A. bella'' is oviparous.<ref name=RDB/>

==Subspecies== Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.<ref name=RDB/> *''Archelaphe bella bella'' {{small|(Stanley, 1917)}} *''Archelaphe bella chapaensis'' {{small|(Bourret, 1934)}}

''Nota bene'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Archelaphe''.

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species|genus=Archelaphe |species=bella |accessdate=28 December 2016}}</ref> }}

==Further reading== *Bourret RN (1934). "''Notes herpétologiques sur l'Indochine Française II. Sur quelques serpents des montagnes du Tonkin'' ". ''Bulletin Général de l'Instruction Publique, Hanoi'' '''1934''': 149–157. (''Elaphe leonardi chapaensis'', new subspecies). (in French). *Orlov, Nikolai L.; Ryabov, Sergey A.; Nguyen, Thien Tao; Nguyen, Truong Quang (2010). "Rediscovery and Redescription of Two Rare Snake Species: ''Oligodon lacroixi'' Angel et Bourret, 1933 and ''Maculophis bellus chapaensis'' (Bourret, 1934) [Squamata: Ophidia: Colubridae] from Fansipan Mountains, Northern Vietnam". ''Russian Journal of Herpetology'' '''17''' (4): 310–322. *Schulz, Klaus-Dieter; Böhme, Wolfgang; Tillack, Frank (2011). "Hemipenis Morphology of ''Coronella bella'' Stanley, 1917 with Comments on Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Issues of Ratsnakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Colubrinae: ''Elaphe'' auct.)". ''Russian Journal of Herpetology'' '''18''' (4): 273–283. (''Archelaphe'', new genus). *Smith MA (1943). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (''Elaphe leonardi'', pp. 156–157). *Stanley, Arthur (1917). "Two new species of Chinese snakes". ''Journal of the North-China Branch Royal Asiatic Society, Shanghai'' '''47''': 83–84. (''Coronella bella'', new species).

Category:Colubrinae Category:Monotypic snake genera Category:Snakes of Myanmar Category:Snakes of China Category:Snakes of Vietnam Category:Taxa named by Wolfgang Böhme (herpetologist) {{Colubrinae-stub}}