About Protobothrops elegans (Gray, 1849)
Scalation Characteristics
This species, Protobothrops elegans (Gray, 1849), has the following scalation traits: 25 (sometimes 23) rows of dorsal scales at midbody, 179–192 ventral scales in males, 182–196 ventral scales in females, 63–90 subcaudal scales, and 8 (sometimes 7 or 9) supralabial scales.
Snakebite Incidence
Between 1965 and 2011, 2447 snakebites from this species were reported, including one fatality.
Geographic Distribution
Geographically, this species occurs in the southern Ryukyu Islands of Japan, specifically the Yaeyama Islands.
Type Locality Initial Status
Its type locality is not known.
Historical Type Locality Records
Boulenger listed the type locality as "---- ?", while Gray's original 1849 description gave "West Coast of [North?] America."
Type Locality Restriction Proposal
Stejneger proposed a restriction of the type locality to "Ishigaki-Shima [Ryukyu Islands, Japan]" in 1907.
