Thrasops jacksonii

Thrasops jacksonii, also known commonly as the black tree snake and Jackson's black tree snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae.^[2] The species is native to Central Africa.

Thrasops jacksonii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Thrasops
Species:	T. jacksonii
Binomial name
Thrasops jacksonii Günther, 1895
Synonyms[2]
Thrasops jacksonii Günther, 1895 Rhamnophis jacksonii — Boulenger, 1896 Thrasops Rothschildsi Mocquard, 1905 Thrasops jacksonii — Schmidt, 1923

Geographic range

T. jacksonii is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of T. jacksonii are forest and savanna, at altitudes of 549–2,400 m (1,801–7,874 ft).^[1]

Description

T. jacksonii may attain a total length (including tail) of about 2.0 m (6.6 ft).^[3]

Behavior

T. jacksonii is diurnal and arboreal, and has been found as high as 30 m (98 ft) in the canopy.^[1]

Diet

A generalist, T. jacksonii preys upon frogs, arboreal lizards, birds and their eggs, and mammals.^[1]

Reproduction

T. jacksonii is oviparous.^[1][2] Clutch size is 7–12 eggs.^[1]

Etymology

The specific name, jacksonii, is in honor of English ornithologist Frederick John Jackson.^[4]

References

1. Wagner, P.; Branch, W.R.; Safari, I.; Chenga, J. (2021). "Thrasops jacksonii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T44929924A44929946. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T44929924A44929946.en. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
2. "Thrasops jacksonii ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
3. Schmidt KP (1923). "Contributions to the Herpetology of the Belgian Congo Based on the Collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition, 1909–1915. Part II. Snakes, with Field Notes by Herbert Lang and James P. Chapin". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 49 (1): 1–146. (Thrasops jacksonii, pp. 85–87).
4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Thrasops jacksoni [sic]", p. 132).

Further reading

• Günther A (1895). "Notice of Reptiles and Batrachians collected in the Eastern Half of Tropical Africa". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 15: 523–529 + Plate XXI. (Thrasops Jacksonii, new species, pp. 528–529).
• Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618. (Thrasops jacksonii, p. 500).