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Lycodon alcalai

species of reptile

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ3268419
Source-derived summary

Lycodon alcalai, also known commonly as Alcala's wolf snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.

Etymology

The specific name alcalai was chosen to honor the Philippine naturalist Angel Chua Alcala, who made significant contributions to herpetology in the Philippines.

Taxonomy

L. alcalai is a member of the genus Lycodon, a genus of snakes commonly known as wolf snakes. The genus belongs to the snake family Colubridae, the largest snake family, with member species being found on every continent except Antarctica.

Description

L. alcalai has a body that is rounded on the back and flattened on the belly. Its head is distinct from its neck, with a snout that extends further than its lower jaw. The pupil of its eye is a vertical ellipse. The rostral scale is large and triangular, and extends backwards for some distance. The dorsum of the snake and the top of the head are dark brown in color, while the belly and bottom of the head are white or light cream yellow.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Lycodon alcalai” is species of reptile. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Lycodon, alcalai and species, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current 176-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Lycodon, alcalai and species is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “species of reptile” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3268419. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Lycodon alcalai”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Lycodon alcalai primary sources, Lycodon alcalai archive and Lycodon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Lycodon alcalai”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Lycodon alcalai” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.