Thereare no venomous snakes in Madagascar, so it was quite safe for our guide to pick up this slender snake (left) which he called the Four Lined Snake Pseudozyrhopus tritaeniatus. The large brown, coiled snake (right) is probably a member of the Boa family of snakes. These are all constrictors and relatively harmless to humans.
ReptilesRelatively few families and genera of reptile have reached Madagascar but they have diversified into more than 260 species, with over 90% of these being endemic. The chameleons are very well represented with two-thirds of the world's species found there. The other lizard groups on Madagascar are the geckoes, skinks, girdle-tailed Thesnakes show a strong arboreal nature, but can be seen hunting on the ground. Madagascarophis colubrinus is a very widespread snake on Madagascar, and the various sub-species are found in all but the South of the island. Madagascarophis ocellatus, Domergue, 1987. This species is rarely available in the hobby. When I first came to Madagascar in 1985, there was very little practical knowledge about reptiles and amphibians anywhere, Snakes are shy and not abundant, the hardest reptiles to find during fieldwork. Madagascar’s snakes have been studied for decades, and still scientists estimate that many new species are yet to be described.Thereare several large and well-used trails, and this reserve has now become firmly established on the tourist tour party circuit. Site 4. ('Manditra') (0.1.7.) Probably the most outstanding reptiles of Madagascar are the three species of boa, endemic to the island and only separated from the African pythons by the Mozambique Channel and
Thecolubrid snakes of Madagascar, with the exception of the genus Mimophis Günther, constitute one of those speciose radiations. In most other clades, there are 25–27 dorsals, but clades E and F comprise individuals with 29 dorsals. Ventral scales range from 185 to 224, but without any clear association to the genetic cladesHZAnrTT.
