Page 79 - Animals of the Sakhalin Region in myths and legends

Snake Japanese forest rat

(Euprepiophis conspicillata)

The Japanese snake reaches a body length of up to 80 cm, a tail up to 16 cm.
The pupil is rounded. The iris of the eyes is light brown. 21 rows of scales run
along the top of the body. Abdominal scutes - 205-221, sub-caudal — 66–74
pairs. The scales are smooth. Weak ribs are located along the edges of the
abdominal scutes, forming longitudinal edges on the sides of the belly. The
anal plate is paired. The upper side of the body is olive-brown or chocolate
without a pattern. The top of the head is dark, the supralabials and the bottom
of the head are light with a yellowish tinge. The belly is dark gray, greenish-
gray or pinkish with rectangular black spots, sometimes located almost in a
checkerboard pattern. The lateral margins of the abdominal scutes are usually
dark.
Rodents predominate in the diet, as well as chicks and bird eggs.
In Russia, it is found only on the island of Kunashir. It was recorded at
the Tuman geothermal station, Neskuchinskiye springs, in the settlements of
Alekhino, Tretyakovo and Goryachy Plyazh, the caldera of Golovnin volcano
and near the Kislyi, Stolbovskiy, Doktorskiy and Dobry streams. The main
part of the range of this species is located in Japan in the north of the island
of Hokkaido, on the islands of Yakushima, Tanegashima, Kyushu, Shikoku,
Honshu and the Ryukyu archipelago.

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