Tiger keelback
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The tiger keelback has large eyes and a rounded snout.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Tiger keelback
- Scientific name
- Rhabdophis tigrinus
- Japanese name
- ヤマカガシ
- Group
- Amphibians and reptiles
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Rhabdophis
A snake of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, living from lowlands to wooded hills. It likes water and is often seen near rice paddies, ponds and rivers.
Its colors vary from place to place, but it has bright red, yellow and black markings. It has venomous fangs at the back of its mouth.
It mainly eats frogs and tadpoles. The poison in the back of its neck comes from the toads it eats, and it uses it to protect itself.
How the Tiger keelback lives
It is mainly active during the day. It also eats loaches and small fish. It also lays eggs in soft soil.
国土交通省九州地方整備局国土交通省中国地方整備局Basic data
- Diet
- Toads
Where the Tiger keelback has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ヤマカガシ
- 简体中文
- 虎斑颈槽蛇
- 繁體中文
- 虎斑頸槽蛇
- 한국어
- 유혈목이
- Deutsch
- Tigernatter
- Português (Brasil)
- Dorso-de-quilha-tigre
- Tiếng Việt
- Rắn hoa cỏ Nhật
- Русский
- Тигровый уж
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 神戸市 — マムシ・ヤマカガシ（毒ヘビ）にご注意！Checked: 2026-11-03
- 京都大学 — 中国のヤマカガシは頸腺毒の成分をホタルから摂取していたことを発見Checked: 2026-11-03
- 国土交通省九州地方整備局 — ヤマカガシChecked: 2026-11-05
- 国土交通省中国地方整備局 — ヤマカガシChecked: 2026-11-05
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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