Liophidium torquatum White-lipped Smooth Snake
Ranomafana National Park, Vatovavy region, MadagascarApril 28, 2007
White-lipped Smooth Snake (Liophidium torquatum) White-lipped Smooth Snake (Liophidium torquatum)
This was the first snake we saw at Ranomafana. After having admired a beautiful and hungry Zonosaurus ornatus nearby, we had walked back to our accomodations at Setam Lodge. As we climbed a staircase up to our rooms, my sister Mary noticed this very small snake stretched out in a stone gutter just alongside the stairs. It remained still for a few pictures, then started thrashing wildly downhill, quickly disappearing into a culvert.

Most references I've found call this snake L. torquatum, but some call it L. torquatus. Glaw and Vences use torquatum in the main text, and torquatus in the photo caption.

Here is a list of all the reptiles and frogs I saw on this 2007 trip to Madagascar.

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