Pfeffer's Reed Snake

Pfeffer's Reed Snake (Calamaria pfefferi) is a small dwarf snake in the colubrid subfamily Calamariinae. Its diagnostic head shields include a rostral visible from above and a frontal longer than broad; published descriptions also record 158–160 ventral scales and 15–26 subcaudals. Identification should combine the documented shell or scale characters with locality, because related reptiles can be similar. All claims are limited to the species accounts opened for this batch (Wikipedia, general species account; Reptile Database).

It is endemic to Japan's Ryukyu Islands, with the type locality on Miyako Shima, and it lays eggs. The species was named for German zoologist Georg Pfeffer. Its taxonomy has varied, with some catalogues treating it as a synonym of Calamaria pavimentata and Japanese works retaining it as valid. Details not supported at species level are omitted rather than supplied from related reptiles. Japanese occurrence follows the site's catalogue and the cited distribution information, without using any IUCN conservation material (Wikipedia, general species account; Reptile Database).