The Transcaucasian ratsnake (Zamenis hohenackeri), also commonly known as the Gavand snake,Latifi, Mahmoud (1991). The Snakes of Iran. Oxford, Ohio: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 156 pp. . ("Elaphe hohenackeri, Gavand Snake", p. 110). is a species of nonvenomous ratsnake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to Western Asia and the Middle East. There are three recognized subspecies.
Etymology The specific name, hohenackeri, is in honor of Rudolph Friedrich Hohenacker, who was a Swiss missionary, physician, and naturalist.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Zamenis hohenacker, p. 125).
Geographic range Zamenis hohenackeri is found in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, southwestern Russia, Syria, and Turkey.
Description Zamenis hohenackeri may attain a total length of , which includes a tail long. Dorsally, it is gray with four alternating series of dark brown spots. Ventrally, it is reddish or yellowish, marbled or spotted with gray. On the head, there is a diagonal black streak from the eye to the corner of the mouth, and a vertical black line below the eye.Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. Plates I-XX. (Coluber hohenackeri, p. 42).
Habitat Zamenis hohenackeri is found in mountainous areas, at altitudes of , in a variety of habitats, from dry to wet, including agricultural areas.
Behavior Zamenis hohenackeri is terrestrial and diurnal.
Reproduction Zamenis hohenackeri is oviparous. Clutch size is 3–7 eggs.
Subspecies Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. Zamenis hohenackeri hohenackeri Zamenis hohenackeri lyciensis Zamenis hohenackeri tauricus
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Zamenis hohenackeri.
References
Further reading Strauch A (1873). "Die Schlangen des Russischen Reichs, in systematischer und zoogeographischer Beziehung ". Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg, [Seventh Series] 21 (4): 1-288 + Plates I-VI. (Coluber hohenackeri, new species, pp. 69–73 + Plate II, figures a-b). (in German and Latin). Utiger, Urs; Helfenberger, Notker; Schätti, Beat; Schmidt, Catherine; Ruf, Markus; Ziswiler, Vincent (2002). "Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old World and New World ratsnakes, Elaphe Auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae)". Russian Journal of Herpetology 9 (2): 105–124. (Zamenis hohenackeri, new combination). Werner F (1898). "Über einige neue Reptilien und einen neuen Frosch aus dem cilisischen Taurus ". Zoologischer Anzeiger 21 (555): 217–223. (Coluber tauricus, new species, pp. 217–220). (in German).