Platyceps najadum
Platyceps najadum, known commonly as Dahl's whip snake, the slender whip snake, and the Zagros whip snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae.Taxonomy
Platyceps najadum was first described by Karl Eichwald in 1831, as Tyria najadum.Geographic range
Platyceps najadum is found in the Balkans, Aegean, Cyprus, the Mid-East, and as far as Turkmenistan and the Caucasus Mountains.Habitat
P. najadum occurs in dry and xeric environments in a wide range of habitats: in desert and rocky land, in forests, woodland scrub, and agricultural land from sea level to altitude. It is commonly found in fields, and seen crushed on roads.Description
P. najadum has a slim body, and is rarely over a metre in total length.Conservation status
P. najadum is threatened by direct persecution, forest fires and intensive agriculture, where its range interacts with human interests.Reproduction
P. najadum is an egg laying species. Females lay between 3 and 16 eggs in a clutch.Subspecies
Five or six subspecies are identified.
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Platyceps.Etymology
Both the subspecific name, dahlii, and the common name, Dahl's whip snake, are in honor of Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.
The subspecific name, schmidtleri, is in honor of German herpetologist Josef Friedrich Schmidtler.Indigenous names
Σαϊτα, Saita, Стрелушка, šilac, Za'aman Z'eitani, Ok Yılanı.
