Banded Racer | Argyrogena fasciolatus

Labels: Banded Racer

Binomial name: Argyrogena fasciolatus

Common name: Banded Racer

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Argyrogena
Species:	A. fasciolatus

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Small to medium-sized; slender; smooth scales; young ones are brightly banded while the adults uniform and without pattern.

Average Length: 75 cm; At Birth: 15 cm; Maximum: 1.4 m.

Description: They are light or dark brown in colour. The young ones have white cross bands at regular spaces. They also have vibrant white head markings. Their head is a bit wider than the neck and nose is slightly pointed. They have smooth scales, but not shining and the underside is yellowish or white.

Distribution: This species is found in plains throughout most parts of India.

Habitat: Banded Racers are very alert and fast snakes and have a preference for high grass or bushes. Generally they occupy rodent burrows, rock piles and heavy brush.

Habits: They are active and quick during the day. When captured, they may bite and display a thin ‘hood’ by flattening its ribs in the neck region. But after some time, it calms down.

Young: The female lays about 2 to 6 eggs some-time around October.

Food: The young eat frogs and insects, while adults feed on mice and Metad Rats (Ratus maltada). They kill their prey by constricting or pressing with the body.

Status: The population of Banded Racers is getting reduced because of severe over-grazing and clearing of vegetation.

Dog-faced Water-Snake | Cerberus rynchops

Labels: New Guinea Bockadam, Dog-faced water-snake
Binomial name: Cerberus rynchops
Common name: Dog-faced Water-Snake

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Cerberus
Species:	C. rynchops

Type: HARMLESS

Distinguishing Features: Medium sized; thick-bodied; scales keeled and dull; head wider than neck; eyes small; back pattern unclear and checkered belly is distinct.

Average Length: 60 cm; At Birth: 15 cm; Maximum: 1.25 m (female).

Description: This Water-Snake is heavy-bodied, with their eyes and nostrils set high on the head. Their overall colour is slate-grey, but sometimes with indistinct uneven black cross bars. Their abdomen has distinctive black and white checks. Their scales are dull and heavily keeled. There are in all 6 other species of rear-fanged swamp snakes in India.

Distribution: They are found in near Coastal India including the Andaman and Nicobars.

Habitat: Dog faced water-snakes hang about in muddy and rocky areas in estuaries such as mangrove swamps, salt pans and creeks. Though they prefer brackish water, this water-snake is also found several miles from the coast in fish traps set in rice fields.

Habits: They seem to be nocturnal but mating and feeding activity is also found during the day. They just peep out exposing only their heads from the holes where they live. They have a long sensitive tongue which is extended out as they swim along the bottom. This species of water-snakes are excellent swimmer, when scared they snap to a leaping and escape to the land.

Young: Around 6 to 30 living young are born between February and May.

Food: Being water-snake, they mainly feed on several species of fishes, which includes spiny ones like Tilapia and cat fish. They also eat frogs.

Status: Though this species is unexploited, the loss of coastal habitat and pollution of brackish water badly depletes their number. Once considered a rare snake, actually it is one of the most plentiful in India.

Indian Monocled Cobra | Naja kaouthia

Labels: Monocled Cobra, Bengal Cobra, Nag Samp
Binomial name: Naja kaouthia
Common name: Indian Monocled Cobra

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Naja
Species:	N. kaouthia

Type: VENOMOUS

Distinguishing Features: Medium sized; smooth, shiny scales; wide head and neck; distinctive hood marking different from that of the Spectacled Cobra.

Average Length: 1 m; At Birth: 20 cm; Maximum: 1.5 m (male).

Description: Monocled Cobra’s skin is shinier, their hood rounder and smaller and the head smaller than that of the Spectacled Cobra. Their colour shows a lot of variation, ranging from yellowish to greenish brown, to black, with ragged bands. Their hood bears a striking white monocle. The underside is yellowish white. This snake superficially resembles the Spectacled Cobra, but there are several minor differences.

Distribution: They are commonly found in North-East India, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and the Andamans. Also, they are found throughout Bengal and Assam.

Habitat: They mainly dwell in much wetter areas than the Spectacled Cobra.

Habits: This Cobra, also known as Bengal Cobra, is mainly nocturnal. When bothered they spread their hood and hiss at the intruder, but bite only when it’s inevitable. While most of them are calm and unexcitable, there have been cases when they are found to be energetic and quick.

Young: Their eggs and clutch sizes are perhaps smaller than that of the Spectacled Cobra. The eggs are laid between January and March.

Food: This snake prefers munching on cold blooded preys like fishes and small snakes, but they also take frogs and rats.

Status: This sub-species is killed on a large scale for its beautiful skin.

Venom: The venom of Monocled Cobra is reported to be less toxic than that of the Spectacled Cobra. The anti-venom produced by the Haffkine’s Institute is effective against its bite.

Saw-Scaled Viper | Echis carinatus

Labels: Saw-scaled Vipers, Carpet Vipers, Phoorsa

Binomial name: Echis carinatus

Common name: Saw-Scaled Viper

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Subfamily:	Viperinae
Genus:	Echis
Species:	E. carinatus

Type: VENOMOUS

Distinguishing Features: Small; strongly keeled scales; head wider than neck; dull colour; cross mark on top of the head distinct.

Average Length: 30-50 cm; At Birth: 8 cm; Maximum: 8 cm.

Description: Saw-scaled Vipers are rough scaled snakes with large eyes, wider head than neck and stocky body. Their scales are deeply keeled. Their body colour is usually brown, greyish or sandy with a darker zigzag pattern on the back and a characteristic cross mark on the head. Their underside is white with brown speckles. Their tails are short and stubby. They are the smallest of the big four venomous snakes of India. They are less of a threat in South India because of their small size; however the Northern form grows large enough to be potentially dangerous member of the Big Four.

Distribution: They are found throughout India, mostly on plains. They are reported up to 2,000 m in the hills of North. They are found in plenty in some areas like Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, parts of Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh.

Habitat: They reside in the dry, sandy or rocky plains. They usually rest under rocks, behind barks, in thorny plants and other dry concealed places. Their favourite haunts include areas of laterite soil, boulders, and light scrub jungle with small hills and open dry tracts.

Habits: Mainly this viper is nocturnal and rarely makes a day-light appearance except possibly to bask in the sun after a cold, rainy night. This inconspicuous snake hides under rocks, bushes or in burrows during day time. They become very lively on humid or rainy nights and regular warm roads after dark. Saw-scaled Vipers get its English and Hindi names from the saw-edged keels of their lateral scales, which it rubs producing a ‘ssshhh’ sound which is similar to the hissing noise produced by other snakes during violent breathing.

Young: Female bears 4 to 8 living young between the months of April and August.

Food: They feed on lizards, mice, frogs, scorpions and few other arthropods.

Status: This species are plentiful throughout and are collected in large numbers in some areas like the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra for production of anti-venom at the Haffkine Institute.

Venom: Saw-scaled Vipers cause the largest number of venomous bites in the regions where they are very common. As this snake is fairly small, its bite is rarely fatal. Their venom is a strong blood coagulant, which after neutralizing the body’s clotting agent, causes a bleeding tendency similar to haemophilia. The bite can be treated by way such as anti-venom, transfusions, Vitamin K and calcium carbonate.

Hook-Nosed Sea Snake | Enhydrina schistosa

Labels: Beaked sea-snake, Hook-nosed sea snake, Common sea snake, Valakadyn sea snake, Dariya samp, Samudhra samp

Binomial name: Enhydrina schistosa
Common name: Hook-Nosed Sea Snake

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Hydrophiidae
Genus:	Enhydrina
Species:	E. schistosa

Type: VENOMOUS

Distinguishing Features: Medium sized; rough, dull scales; body flattened, tail flat and paddle-shaped.

Average Length: 60 cm; At Birth: 15 cm; Maximum: 1.5 m.

Description: This Sea Snake is a quite short, stout snake with square nose and tip of the upper jaw protruding in a hook over the lower one, hence the name. Their overall colour is grey and there are dark round blotches on the back. Their scales are rather coarse and granular, unlike most of the snakes. The underside and bottom half of their body is white. Their tail is flat and paddle-like in appearance.

Distribution: Hook-Nosed Sea Snakes are found in the coast and coastal islands of India and are the commonest of the over 20 kinds of sea snakes found in Indian coastal waters.

Habitat: They are normally found in the deep sea but prefer coastal regions. Many a times they are accidentally captured in the inshore fishing nets.

Habits: In general not much is known about the sea snakes. Mostly, they seem to be active both during day and night. They rarely seem to rest, while continuously swimming around when awake. They can stay under-water for a maximum period of 5 hours and can dive to about 100 m. Like most of the sea snakes, this species rarely bite and there are hardly any incidences of death from their bites. Sea snakes are equipped with glands to discard excess salt from their body.

Young: All sea snakes bear 2-5 living young, except the Amphibious Sea Snake.

Food: Being sea snakes, their main item in food includes fish. Their highly toxic venom quickly paralyses the fast and slippery prey.

Status: Hook-Nosed Sea Snakes are common and not much exploited. In few countries Amphibious Sea Snake are slaughtered for their meat and some other species are hunted for their skins.

Venom: Their venom is rated four to eight times toxic as Cobra venom. Other sea snake venoms are almost equally lethal. Sea snakes do not have a highly proficient venom injection apparatus as the Vipers and Cobras do. Anti-venom for its bite is not available here, but is made in Japan and Australia.

Slender Coral Snake | Calliophis melanurus

Labels: Indian Coral Snake, Coral Snake, Slender Coral Snake

Binomial name: Calliophis melanurus
Common name: Slender Coral Snake

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Calliophis
Species:	C. melanurus

Type: VENOMOUS

Distinguishing Features: Small, slender; smooth, shiny scales; blunt, black head; tail black, scarlet and blue.

Average Length: 25-35 cm; Diameter: 5 mm.

Description: Slender Coral Snakes are light brown and to some extent speckled. Their head and neck are black with two prominent yellow spots on top of the head. A shabby black ring is seen at their tail-base and tail-tip. The underside is consistent pinkish-red, bright scarlet at the vent and the underside of tail is bluish. Their heads are blunt and have the same width as the neck. Scales are smooth and faintly glossy. This Slender Coral Snake is one of the 5 Indian Coral Snakes, the other 4 being the hill forest species present in the Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas.

Distribution: This species is distributed in most parts of India on the plains, except Central and North-western India.

Habitat: Mostly Slender Coral Snakes are seen in the coastal scrub jungles, under leaves, brick and rubble piles, and sandy patches.

Habits: They are mainly nocturnal snakes, but on rare occasions become active in the early morning hours in the cooler months. They are fine burrowers in sandy soil and can lay motion-less with just their head noticeable. In excitement, they will curl their tails up and wave it, exhibiting their startling underside colours, thus mocking attention from the head.

Young: Not much knowledge is gathered about the reproduction of this snake, except that all Indian Coral Snakes are egg-layers. Few North Indian species have been found laying 6-14 eggs.

Food: They seem to feed on worm snakes.

Status: This species is considered a rare one, as described in the literature. Also, Coral Snakes are forest species and hence their number is reducing due to the declining forest areas in our country.

Venom: Evidently, nothing is known about the venom of these little relatives of Cobra.