Russell viper | Vipera russelii

Labels: Russell's viper, Daboia, Chain viper, Indian Russell's viper

Binomial name: Vipera russelii

Common name: Russell viper

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Subfamily:	Viperinae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. russellii

Type: VENOMOUS

Distinguishing Features: Medium to large sized; strongly keeled scales; distinctive bright chain pattern; large triangular head.

Average Length: 1 m; At Birth: 24 cm; Maximum: 1.8 m (male).

Description: They are bulky, rough scaled snakes with vertical eye pupils and bright pattern. Body colour is usually brown or yellowish with dark, round spots edged with white and black pattern. Their underside is white or speckled, depending on the region where they occur. Russell Vipers can be identified by their short, fat body, triangular shaped head and regular chain-like pattern. Also the presence of bright symmetrical spots on their back makes them easily distinguishable. They sometimes resemble the fat, harmless common sand boas which however have shorter and blunter tails and irregular body patterns. The big four fatal snakes of India include the Russell Viper.

Distribution: They occur in hills and plains throughout India, up to 3,000 m.

Habitat: Russell Vipers reside in the open areas off the hilly regions and plain scrub jungle bordering farm lands. They are found in termite mounds and rat holes in very hot weather, but their preferred places are rock fissures, thick leaves, grass, thorn bushes and cacti. Pandanus bushes and Agave are their favourite abodes.

Habits: This snake may seem to be sluggish, but when aggravated they are capable of very fast movements in short spurts. Russell Vipers may bite in defence and make a hissing sound. They are coy and timid, unlike cobras which are proficient at quick escape. Bites usually happen as a result of accidents in the plantation, estate and farms where farmers unknowingly put their feet or hands in dense bushes, or step on a viper.

Young: Female vipers produce 20 to 40 living young, who are bright replicas of the parents, in the months during May to July.

Food: Young ones are wild in activity and can eat other snakes, lizards, mice, land crabs and sometimes even feed on scorpions and few arthropods. The adult vipers seem to be rodent-eaters, probably catching a bird.

Status: This species forms a main resource of the skin industry in South India. Russell Vipers are completely exterminated in some areas through enormous all-season collection.

Venom: Their venom is extremely toxic and the bite is one of the most lethal of all Indian snakes. So it should be urgently treated with ample anti-venom. This poisonous venom affects the blood and is used in medicine to check bleeding.

Olive Keelback Watersnake | Atretium schistosum

Labels: Split Keelback, Olive Keelback Snake

Binomial name: Atretium schistosum
Common Name: Olive Keelback Watersnake

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Atretium
Species: A. schistosum

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Small to medium-sized; keeled, shiny scales; dorsal half of the body is olive-green; underside yellow.

Average Length: 45 cm; At Birth: 10 cm; Maximum: 1 m.

Description: It is a thin headed snake. The overall colour is rich olive-green, occasionally bordered with a red streak along each side of the body. The underside is yellow or orange. The females are usually larger than the males. They resemble Enhydris, another common water-snake; Enhydris is a smooth water-snake and it prefers river and estuarine. Olive Keelback Watersnakes are abundant in Kerala, Orissa and west-Bengal.

Distribution: These are common in peninsular India and absent in the North. They are found up to 1,000 m above sea level.

Habitat: They find habitation in still waters of tanks and ponds, where they occupy crab and other holes.

Habits: Olive Keelback Watersnakes seem to be diurnal, but they are seen moving around at night as well. When handled they rarely bite.

Young: 12-30 eggs are laid from December through March.

Food: Mostly the aquatic and marine snakes catch the tadpoles, fish and frogs with a characteristic side-strike. These snakes swim past their prey and abruptly snap their head to the side. It is also found that Olive Keelbacks eat mosquito larvae.

Status: Though sometimes called ‘water cobra’, people are tolerant towards this small, well camouflaged snake. Consequently, they are relatively common.

Checkered Keelback Watersnake | Xenochropis piscator

Labels: Checkered water-snake, Pani ka samp

Binomial Name: Xenochropis piscator
Common Name: Checkered Keelback Watersnake

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Xenochropis
Species: X. piscator

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Medium-sized; keeled, glossy scales; prominent black eye-streaks and characteristic checkered pattern.

Average Length: 60 cm; At Birth: 12.5 cm; Maximum: 1.75 m (female).

Description: These snakes show quite variations in colour, ranging from black with light markings to bright yellow with the characteristic black and white checkered pattern. One or two eye-streaks are distinct and the head is obtusely pointed discrete from the neck. Overall the snake is heavy-bodied and the scales are strongly keeled and glossy. The underside is usually shiny and white. Checkered Keelback Watersnake is the common water snake of India, plentiful, adaptable and mostly found everywhere, in and near freshwater.

Distribution: Checkered Keelback Watersnakes are found throughout India, up to 3,000 m in the Himalayas. The darker forms are common in the streams of the higher hills in the Ghats and Himalayas. But their appearances and habits are similar.

Habitat: They usually live in lakes, ponds, wells, rivers, streams and flooded rice fields.

Habits: Checkered Keelbacks are lively during day and night, and hunt along the edges of ponds and rice fields, spending much time on land after dark. They flatten their head; extend the ribs of the neck and rear up, once excited. Because of this act, many mistake them for Cobras. They bite readily when stepped on or caught, but soon become docile if handled properly.

Young: The females normally lay around 20-40 eggs in a rat tunnel, termite mound or hole in a well, wall or tank bund. She incubates and protects the eggs until they hatch 60-70 days later.

Food: Young ones feed on tadpoles and water insects. As they grow larger, they intake fish, frogs and sometimes rodents and birds. They generally swallow their prey alive. Their long ‘frog teeth’ in the back of the upper jaw hold and puncture frogs.

Status: Checkered Keelback Watersnake’s skins are well-known items in the skin trade. Though being the most common snake in India, several local populations have been wiped out by intensive all-season collection.

King Cobra | Ophiophagus hannah

Labels: Cobra, Naga Raja

Binomial name: Ophiophagus hannah
Common name: King Cobra

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Ophiophagus
Species: O. hannah

Type: VENOMOUS

Distinguishing Features: Large; smooth, shiny scales; distinct light cross bands mainly on fore-body; large head scales edged with black.

Average Length: 3 m; At Birth: 50 cm; Maximum: 5 m (male).

Description: The huge head of the Giant King Cobra is wider than their neck. The overall colour varies from yellowish to deep olive-green but the tail is often jet-black. The underside has a lighter shade of the body colour. They are the largest venomous snakes in the world.

Distribution: King Cobras are rare in India. They are confined mostly to the dense forests of the Western Ghats up to Goa, the Himalayan foot-hills. Also found in forests of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and the Andamans.

Habitat: In general King Cobras occur in tea and coffee plantations of the lower elevations up to 1200 m above sea level. They seem to require special conditions of heavy rainfall and dense undergrowth. However, they are not restricted to the hills, but also inhabit estuarine mangrove swamps in Bengal, Orissa and the Andamans.

Habits: The aggressive nature of this magnificent snake has been wrongly portrayed and written about, whereas they are more imaginative than factual. In reality, King Cobras are timid snakes, unwilling to attackseeking escape when possible. In the field, they are awesome looking and both man and snake beat a speedy retreat. The snake may charge with open mouth, emitting a deep growl, if injured or harmed in any way. These snakes behave with an intelligence and awareness which is usually atypical in snakes.

Young: Not much is known about the breeding habits of Indian King Cobras. Females may lay up to 20 eggs. Females rub together leaves with their body construct a conical nest about 30 cm high. After laying eggs, she then coils on top of this leaf heap for about 2 months, for the young ones to hatch. King Cobras are they only species in the world known to build nest.

Food: Their diet chiefly comprises of snakes, and sometimes lizards. The Rat snake and Checkered Keelback seem to be their main prey. They kill their prey by suffocating it and biting the throat, probably envenomating it as well.

Status: They are rare snakes within their declining forest range and have an uncertain prospect. They are usually killed when encountered on plantations. King Cobras should be considered a threatened species and well protected in India.

Venom: Their venom is faintly less poisonous than the cobra’s but the huge venom glands can contain up to 6 ccs of venom, enough to kill an elephant. The anti-venom is available only in Thailand.

Trinket Snake | Elaphe helena

Binomial name: Elaphe helena

Common Name: Trinket Snake

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Elaphe
Species: E. helena

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Medium-sized and slender; smooth, shiny scales; light fore-body and dark tail.

Average Length: 70 cm; At Birth: 25 cm; Maximum: 1.5 m.

Description: Trinket Snakes are tan and chocolate-brown in colour, with two prominent dark stripes on the latter part of the body and light bands and checks on the fore-part. Their long head is unmarked, eyes are prominent and round-pupilled. The two dark lines on either side of the neck may join medially to form an inverted ‘V’. The scales are smooth and glossy. The scales in front of the eye are scattered with pores, which may possibly be sensory. There are 9 species of Trinket Snakes in India.

Distribution: They are found throughout India. Green Trinket Snakes are found in the Andamans, and the Mandarin Trinket is found up to 4000 m in the Himalayas.

Habitat: They generally live deep in termite mounds, rock piles and crevices during the hot weather, whereas in the cool season they emerge and are seen in leafy trees and bushes.

Habits: They are active during day as well as at night. Generally Trinket Snakes are well mannered and calm when handled, but occasionally they swell their necks, rear back open-mouthed and make quick strikes at a provoker. In defence, they will sometimes vibrate their tails resembling one of the highly specialized Rattle Snakes in America.

Young: Female lays around 6 to 8 long eggs. The young resembles the adult. Breeding appears to be year-round.

Food: The adult trinket is mainly a rodent eater which kills its prey by constriction. On few occasions birds and their eggs are also eaten. Young ones feed on insects and small lizards.

Status: This species is nowhere very common. As they prefer farmlands as well as forests, the rapid increase of cleared agricultural lands seems to have little effect. Though beautiful in appearance, they are not plentifulenough to be in demand by the skin trade.

Remarks: Trinket Snakes are often wrongly considered as venomous even by snake-catching groups.

Green Keelback | Macropisthodon plumbicolor

Labels: Green Keelback Snake, Lead Keelback

Binomial name: Macropisthodon plumbicolor
Common Name: Green Keelback

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Macropisthodon
Species: M. plumbicolor

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Medium-sized; keel-scaled; grass-green coloured; flattens neck into ‘hood’ with distinct ‘V’ mark when aggravated.

Average Length: 55 cm; At Birth: 7.5 cm; Maximum: 80 cm.

Description: Green Keelback’s overall colour is bright green with imprecise and irregular black cross lines. The head and neck bear a fairly clear ‘V’ mark which becomes part of the ‘hood’ design when the snake is provoked. The skin is slightly glossy and strongly keeled. The head is wide and eyes are large, round-pupilled. Their underside is greyish-white.

Distribution: They are found in the forests of India, up to 1500 m above sea level.

Habitat: They find shelter chiefly on the hills and plateaus, in dense evergreen as well as open deciduous forests.

Habits: Not much is known about the habits of this snake. When frightened, they freeze into ‘S’s as most of the snakes do. In deposition, it is gentle and inoffensive.

Young: The female lays around 12 eggs. The young are brightly coloured with black bands and speckled markings on their body up to 8 months or even a year. Their neck markings are also conspicuous.

Food: They favour toads to all other prey. Their long rear teeth in the roof of the mouth facilitate easycatching of the prey.

Status: Green Keelbacks are not a very commonly found species, although they are widely distributed. But with rapid deforestation, their preferred forest habitat is apparently disappearing.

Striped Keelback | Amphiesma stolatum

Binomial Name: Amphiesma stolata
Common Name: Striped Keelback

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Subfamily: Natricinae Genus: Amphiesma Species: A. stolatum

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Small, keel (rough) scaled with two distinctive yellow stripes down back.

Average Length: 40 cm; At Birth: 12 cm; Maximum: 80 cm (female).

Description: This species is closely related to and resemble the Water Snakes. In fact, they feel quite at home in water and have long rear teeth for catching frogs. Their overall colour is light or dark brown with yellow stripes running down the body length. The lower half of their body prominently shows these stripes. The head is light brown, and the sides of the head, lip area and chin are white or yellow. Striped Keelback is the common ‘Grass Snake’ of India.

Distribution: Striped Keelbacks occur throughout India up to 2000 m in the hills.

Habitat: They dwell in rice fields, pond edges whereas thick grass and bushes are favoured.

Habits: Striped Keelbacks are diurnal and spend nights sleeping under rocks, holes or the branches of trees or bushes. During the breeding season, a female may be found attended by six or more smaller males. They are one of the gentlest snakes and rarely bite when caught for the first time. When alarmed, few spread a small ‘Hood’, revealing their beautiful, blue, red or white interscale colour.

Young: Females lay around 12 eggs. Egg-laying is observed year-round.

Food: Striped Keelback’s main diet comprises of frogs, but they also intake toads, small lizards and rodents, which they swallow alive. Insects, tadpoles, the young of toads and small-mouthed frogs are the food of Keelback’s young ones.

Status: They are very commonly found everywhere.

Remarks: Commonly found in gardens, Striped Keelbacks are often misinterpreted as ‘Baby Cobras’ and unnecessarily killed by indiscriminate gardeners and house-holders.

Banded Kukri | Oligodon arnensis

Labels: Common Kukri Snake, Banded Kukri

Binomial name: Oligodon arnensis
Common Name: Banded Kukri

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Genus: Oligodon Species: O. arnensis

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Small; smooth, lustrous scales; prominent cross bands and characteristic chevron mark on top of the head.

Average Length: 35 cm; At Birth: 8 cm; Maximum: 64 cm.

Description: Banded Kukris are reddish or greyish-brown with 10-12 black or dark brown bands. The top of the head has a distinct arrowhead design. Underneath they are white in appearance. The scales are smooth and glossy, head is thin with a blunt tip, and eyes are round-pupilled. These snakes get their name from their sharp, curved teeth, perfect for holding strong prey such as geckos. Banded Kukris are the most common of the 34 Kukri snakes of Asia. Russell’s Kukri is another common species.

Distribution: Found throughout India. The White-barred Kukri of Assam is found up to 2000 m in the hills.

Habitat: Though they are sometimes found in termite mounds, Banded Kukris like the wolf and cat snakes, are mainly cave, crevice and tree-hole dwellers that find old broken houses especially proper for their occupancy.

Habits: They are out and active on cool rainy nights. This species almost never bites and its main defence is to stiffen and jerk when provoked, similar to Kraits.

Young: Banded Kukris normally lay 3-6 eggs. Baby Kukris appear in Madras in September.

Food: They feed on Geckos, skinks and small mice. They are chiefly fond of birds and reptile eggs. The tiny young ones feed on insects, their larvae and spiders.

Status: This is a fairly common snake, although they are nowhere in plenty. They are often mistaken for Kraitskilled. and

Common Wolf Snake | Lycodon aulicus

Binomial name: Lycodon aulicus
Common name: Common Wolf Snake

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata

Suborder: Serpentes

Family: Colubridae

Genus: Lycodon

Species: L. aulicus

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Small, slender, with or without clear cross bands; smooth glittery scales; protruding black eyes.

Average Length: 30 cm; At Birth: 14 cm; Maximum: 80 cm.

Description: This type of snake is grey, brownish or black with 10-20 thin white or yellow bands. Their jet black eyes protrude slightly and the pupil is invisible. Small ones have translucent skins so that the internal organs can be seen from beneath. The head is flattish and somewhat pointed; the scales are smooth and slightly shimmering. They are small and often brightly marked ‘House Snakes’. Total eight species of Wolf Snakes have been reported in India.

Distribution: Common Wolf Snakes are found throughout India; including the Andaman and Nicobars, up to over 2000 m in the hills.

Habitat: They live in and around caves, stone piles, hollow trees, under bark and other dry, sheltered places. They easily survive in man-made mud, brick and cement caves because of abundant grub to feed on.

Habits: They are strictly nocturnal and are never seen out during the day time. They are great climbers and can easily cling to fairly smooth walls and tree trunks. Initially they tend to bite with micro-ferocity, when handled. Sometimes a big bite can be quite painful. There long front teeth can be sometime mistaken for fangs.

Young: They lay around 5 to 7 eggs in December to January. The young have bolder and brighter patterns than the adults.

Food: Adult Common Wolf Snakes prefer skinks and geckos, though they also eat small lizards and frogs. They swallow their prey alive with the aid of their long front teeth which help in gripping it.

Status: They are often mistaken and killed as ‘Kraits’. Though found commonly, they are nowhere abundant. Their number is reducing, also because of their requirement as specimen in school and colleges.

Red Sand Boa | Eryx johnii

Labels: Smooth Sand Boa, Smooth-scaled Sand Boa, Brown Sand Boa, Red Sand Boa, Two-headed Snake, Black Earth Boa

Binomial name: Eryx johnii
Common name: Red Sand Boa

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Boidae
Subfamily: Erycinae
Genus: Eryx
Species: E. johnii

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Medium sized, with very blunt tail and head; keeled scales; no definite pattern.

Average Length: 75 cm; At Birth: 22 cm; Maximum: 1 m.

Description: In general the colour of Red Sand Boa varies considerably, from reddish-brown and spectacled-grey or yellowish to black. The thick body is well adapted for burrowing. The Red Sand Boa is one of the oddest looking snakes of India. The shovel-shaped nose and a blunt tail make them appear as if they have been chopped off. This facilitates easy identification of this species. Therefore, they are often called ‘two-headed snakes’ in vernacular languages and are favourites of the snake-charmers.

Distribution: This species is normally found throughout the drier parts of India. Also they are common in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the North-West. It is a plain’s snake.

Habitat: Red Sand Boa prefers sandy places and often lives in rodent burrows.

Habits: Like Common Sand Boa, Red Sand Boa is also a nocturnal snake. They are docile and unlike Common Sand Boas, will not bite when handled. They will just try to hide the head under their body coils. With the head securely tucked under, the boa’s tail may wave about and distract the tormentor.

Young: The female give birth to 6 to 8 living young around June. The young are distinctly banded.

Food: Red Sand Boa’s follow the same diet and pattern of killing their prey as of Common Sand Boa. This snake feeds on other snakes with fair regularity. They are one of the few snakes that can penetrate the blocked burrows of the Mole Rat.

Status: This snake has been lucky enough to have remained off the skin dealer’s list, and also apparently favoured by the ever increasing desert regions of India.

Common Sand Boa | Eryx conicus

Labels: Rough-scaled Sand Boa, Rough-tailed Sand Boa

Binomial name: Eryx conicus
Common name: Common Sand Boa

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Boidae
Genus: Eryx
Species: E.conicus

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Short, thick-bodied; keeled scales; very rough tail; prominent, blotched pattern.

Average Length: 50 cm; At Birth: 12.5 cm; Maximum: 1 m (female).

Description: The overall colour of the Common Sand Boa varies from yellowish-white to dark brown, with irregular spots of reddish-brown to black forming an uneven chain down the back. They are short snakes with a very rough tail and a square nose. Seemingly, they resemble the Russells Viper; the spots of the latter however are even and round.

Distribution: They are common throughout India on the plains and low hills but rare or almost absent in most parts of Bengal and Assam.

Habitat: They thrive in sandy soil, rat burrows, brick piles, and rocky areas are favoured.

Habits: Common Sand Boas are mainly nocturnal, and hunt after dark for fresh rodent burrows, with head and neck out of a hole, for a passing rodent. The Common Sand Boas typically hide the head beneath the body when provoked. Though less of a digger than the Red Sand Boa, this snake also prefers sandy soils for effortless burrowing.

Young: Females give birth to 6 to 8 living young’s during the period from May to June. The young are bright replicas of their parents, and somewhat resemble the Saw scaled vipers.

Food: The adults munch on rats, lizards, birds, frogs and toads.

Status: Though effective rodent controllers, Common Sand Boas have been extensively killed for their skins, which are called ‘Baby Python’ by the dealers.

Remarks: In some parts of India it is thoughtlessly believed that the bite or lick of this snake causes leprosy or a similar skin disease. The origin of this story may have been the snake’s spotted skin pattern.

Indian Rock Python | Python molurus

Labels: Indian Python, Black-tailed Python, Rock Python, Ajgar

Binomial name: Python molurus
Common name: Indian Rock Python

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Pythonidae
Genus: Python
Species: P. molurus

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Large, thick-bodied; smooth scales; bright, blotched pattern.

Average Length: 3 m; At Birth: 50 cm; Maximum: 6 m.

Description: Indian Rock Python is a heavy-bodied, smooth-scaled snake with lance-shaped head and short tail. The bright, blotched pattern may be yellowish to dark brown. Pythons of the hill forests of the Western Ghats and Assam are darker, and those of the Deccan and East Coast are usually lighter. The underside is whitish, yellowish or light orange. Pythons have ‘spurs’ which are vestigial legs on either side of the anal vent. These are larger in males. These snakes are equipped with heat sensors, small slits near the nostrils, similar in function to the ‘pits’ of the pit vipers. The other species of Python found in India, the Regal Python (Python reticulatus) grows to over 10 metres and is possibly the largest snake in the world. It is reported from the Nicobars.

Distribution: These are scattered throughout most of India. Pythons are found in estuarine mangrove forests, arid scrub jungle and the cool dense rain forests up-to 2000 m above sea level.

Habitat: Pythons can adapt in many types of environment but they require large undisturbed areas to hunt and hide in. They live in rocky clefts and caves, abandoned mammal burrows, hollow trees, dense water reed and mangrove thickets. They generally prefer a place near permanent water source.

Habits: This species bask in the sun during the day time. At night, they hang around in search of prey or lie in wet near a water hole or a regular mammal pathway. Very large Pythons seem unwilling to move far and often establish a territory and a preferred residence. After a heavy meal, they become lethargic and may rest for several days or even weeks during digestion.

Young: During the months of March and June, the female lays up-to 100 eggs in a safe undisturbed hole, cave or hollow and remains coiled on them for 60 to 80 days. The size of the eggs is often like the duck eggs, but sometimes it may vary. The female may contract her body muscles rhythmically, thus incubating the clutch, affording temperature and humidity control and protection.

Food: Pythons mainly feed on warm-blooded prey ranging in size from mice and birds to jackal, civets and even deer and wild boar. They stalk prey silently, striking suddenly and tightening around the victim. Pythons do not crush their prey but hamper their respiration and heart beat. There is no authentic case of a human being eaten by one in India. Pythons are extremely valuable predators on agricultural pests.

Status: Pythons are killed throughout their range for their fine skin; thus, this beautiful species is now locally extinct in many areas. They are now partly protected by the Government of India and Python skin export is banned. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Poliyars and other tribals eat Python meat and the fat is favoured in many areas for supposed medical uses.

Perrotet’s Shieldtail Snake | Plectrurus perroteti

Binomial name: Plectrurus perroteti
Common name: Perrotet’s Shieldtail Snake

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Uropeltidae
Genus: Plectrurus
Species: P. perroteti

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Small; pointed head and blunt tail; smooth, glossy scales; generally brightly marked underside.

Average Length: Up to 44 cm; diameter 11 mm.

Description: Perrotet’s Shieldtail is brown; each scale has a reddish or yellowish centre. The underside of the tail is orange and the young usually have a yellow line on the top of the tail. All uropeltids have powerful, piercing heads and tiny eyes. The tail is short and blunt and ends in two small points. The bright iridescence of these snakes is best seen when the snake is put in sunlight, but is actually due to specializations of the scales that keep the dirt from adhering to it. Shieldtails are often mistaken for earthworms; however, unlike earthworms, almost all species have brightly marked undersides. Perrotet’s Shieldtail is one of the 43 shieldtails or uropeltids of the hills of South and Central India and Sri Lanka.

Distribution: Distributed throughout Western Ghats, South of Goa. According to the M.A. Smith, this species is common in the Nilgiris and Anaimalais. Other species are found at their particular elevation and habitat preferences throughout the Western Ghats. The distribution of these snakes needs significant reconsideration.

Habitat: Uropeltids are forest snakes, occupying tunnel systems generally in the leaves, humus, rocks and logs of most forests, 10-30 cm below the surface of the soil. At drier times of the year they may burrow much deeper.

Habits: Being burrowers, uropeltids spend most of their time underground. They may move to the surface at night and they are found to be active when it rains. These snakes do not bite when handled.

Young: Shieldtails produce 3-5 living young ones.

Food: They apparently feed on earthworms and insect larva.

Status: With the ever-increasing devastation of the hill forests the Shieldtails and countless other smaller, little-known forest creatures are likely to become extinct before we get into deeper study on their biology.

Common Worm Snake | Typhlina bramina

Labels: Brahminy blind snake, Common blind snake

Binomial name: Typhlina bramina
Common name: Common Worm Snake

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Typhlina
Species: T. bramina

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Small, wormlike; smooth, shiny scales; blunt head and tail; no definite pattern.

Average Length: 12.5 cm; At Birth: 3.5 cm; Maximum: 17 cm (Beaked Worm Snake: 60 cm).

Description: Common Worm Snakes are reddish-brown or black, and their widely overlapping soft scales have a shining sheen. Superficially they look like earthworms. The tail is similar to the blunt head, but bears a tiny spine; the eyes are barely visible dots and covered by scales. The underside is usually lighter. Magnification is needed to show the scales and tongue to prove them to be miniatures of the snake world. This is the commonest of the 14 species of worm snakes (or blind snakes). They are the smallest of Indian snakes and very little is known about them. Some people call them primitive but these snakes are highly specific for underground survival, and their sensory behaviour and mechanics of movement are of great significance to scientists. Until recently, the scientific name of the Common Worm Snake was Typhlops braminus; then it was discovered that the genus included several subgroups.

Distribution: They are found throughout India including the Andamans. One of the two snakes is reported from Lakshadweep Islands. They originate up-to 1000 m above sea level in Indian ranges.

Habitat: Worm snakes find shelter underground, in ant and termite nests. They also establish themselves under logs, moist leaves and humus in wet forests, dry jungle and even city gardens.

Habits: This species turns out to be all-female and parthenogenetic. In fact, common worm snakes have many rivals and only come to the surface at night. When handed, they give off an unpleasant smelling musk, at the same time poking with their tail-point in a convincing act of ‘mock-stinging’. The musk lets other worm snakes know of their existence and acts as an ant and predator repellent.

Young: This snake lays 5-8 self-fertilized eggs; the time of egg-laying in India is not yet known.

Food: They feed evidently on worms, the soft-bodied larva and eggs of ants and termites, tunnels of which they reside in. Apparently, confined worm snakes at the Madras Snake Park have fed on earth worms.

Status: The distribution and survival of this group of snakes directly reflects soil humidity and temperature. Since deforestation has become extensive in India, it is likely that some of the forest species of worm snakes will not continue to exist.

Remarks: Common Worm Snakes are possibly the world’s most widely distributed snakes. Carried around the world in flower pots (by accident), they have occupied even the snake-less islands like Lakshadweep, New Zealand and Hawaii.