Extended information
The tiger-spotted snake is extremely widely distributed in China, including Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, It is distributed in Guizhou and other places; abroad it is mainly distributed in Japan, South Korea and the Soviet Union.
The tiger-spotted snake has two rows of tiny teeth on the left and right sides of its upper and lower jaws, which are non-venomous teeth. However, the last two maxillary teeth above the corners of the mouth deformed into tubeless, grooveless rear fangs. The rear fangs are firmly connected to the maxillary and transverse bones and have poor mobility. The size difference between the two fangs is not obvious and they are sharp-edged. There are 9 symmetrical scales on the head; 1 cheek scales, 2 anterior scales, 3(4) posterior eye scales; 1~2 temporal scales; 7 upper lip scales, arranged in a 2-2-3 pattern. , a few are 8, arranged in a 2(3)-3(2)-3 pattern; the lower lip scales are 9 to 10; the dorsal scales are all ridged or only the most superficial ones are smooth, 21-19-1 7 (15) rows; 150 to 170 abdominal scales; 55 to 86 pairs of lower tail scales; two anal scales. There are 10 pairs of subcutaneous glands arranged in a chain bead shape on the nape of the neck, which can eject dark yellow liquid when squeezed. Female snakes are about 1m long, and males are shorter.
Tiger-necked snakes mainly live in mountainous areas, hills and plains. They often appear in fields, roadsides, vegetable gardens, ditches and near water, moist and grassy places. They are active during the day and move very fast. When frightened and angry, they will raise their heads. Raise the neck, or bend it in a "B" shape, and expand and flatten the neck. This phenomenon is probably related to the glands on the back of the neck; it mainly feeds on frogs, tadpoles, and toads, and occasionally rats, fish, birds, etc. ; Eggs are laid from June to August, ranging from 2 to 24 eggs at a time, and more than 30 eggs are laid at a time. The egg diameter is 21~36×11~15mm, and the incubation period is 40~50 days; 0 After October, when the temperature gradually drops, tiger-necked snakes will choose places that are exposed to the wind, have dry ground, and have abandoned caves or gaps, such as ditch edges, stone wells, cemeteries with rat holes, stone dams, etc. They hibernate until early May of the following year, when the temperature rises to 8-20°C, and then they gradually leave the hibernation place.