Lycodon zawi, commonly known as Zaw's wolf snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia
Etymology The specific name, zawi, is in honor of U Khin Maung Zaw, Director of the Myanmar Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division.Slowinski et al., 2001, p. 402.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Lycodon zawi, p. 293).
Geographic range L. zawi is found in Bangladesh, northeastern India (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura), and Myanmar (formerly called Burma). www.reptile-database.org.
Description Dorsally, L. zawi is brownish black with white crossbands. Ventrally, it is cream-colored. It can grow to 48 cm (19 inches) in total length (including tail).Slowinski et al., 2001, p. 398.
Habitat Zaw's wolf snake was discovered dwelling in forests and near streams at elevations of less than in Assam, India, including Garbhange Reserve Forest, and in northern Myanmar.
Diet L. zawi feeds mainly on small lizards such as skinks and geckos.Slowinski et al., 2001, p. 403.
Reproduction L. zawi is oviparous.
References
Further reading Das I (2012). A Naturalist's Guide to the Snakes of South-East Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. Oxford, England: John Beaufoy Publishing. 176 pp. . Majumder, Joydeb (2018). "Record of Lycodon zawi (Squamata: Colubridae) in Tripura and its range extension in northeast India: an Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots [sic] of the world". Biodiversity International Journal 2 (3): 303–304. Slowinski JB, Pawar SS, Win H, Thin T, Gyi SW, Oo SL, Tun H (2001). "A New Lycodon (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Northeast India and Myanmar (Burma)". Proceedings of the California Acadademy of Sciences 52: 397–405. (Lycodon zawi, new species). Whitaker R, Captain A (2008). Snakes of India: The Field Guide. Chennai: Draco Books. 495 pp. .