[2][1] The specific name, ruhstrati, was chosen to honor German-born Ernst Konrad A. Ruhstrat (died 1913), of the Imperial Chinese Customs Service, who collected the type specimens of this species in southern Taiwan.

Colubridae is the largest snake family, with member genera and species being found on every continent except Antarctica.

[6] In 2013, the genetic sequence of L. ruhsrati was used as part of a study which suggested combining the genera Lycodon and Dinodon.

[9] L. ruhstrati occurs in the Tranninh Plateau of Laos, northern Vietnam, Taiwan, and southern China.

It has been found in the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guanxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Zhejiang, as well as Hong Kong.