Distributed range & status
A female specimen was found only once from Colombo by Captain Nietner in Sri Lanka. But they can be found commonly in the Indian Ocean such as Thailand.
Scales
rostral |
|
frontal |
|
supraoculars |
|
parietals |
|
prefrontals |
|
nasals |
Touch one another |
internasals |
absent |
loreals |
absent |
preoculars |
1 |
postoculars |
2 |
temporals |
1+1 |
Supralabials |
6-8 (1 & 2 touches the nasal scale, 2 & 3 touches preocular scale, 3 & 4 touches the eye) |
mental |
|
infralabials |
8-10 |
sublinguals |
|
coastals |
|
ventrals |
247-290 in the middle of the body, it gets larger |
anal |
|
subcaudals |
41-52 |
Scales are distinctly keeled. They have 43-50 mid body scale rows. Dorsal scales bear keels & 2 sharp ridges.
Characteristics
Anterior part of the body is cylindrical & posterior body is laterally flattened. Anterior body is thin. The head is flattened. They have a flattened paddle like tail.
Colour
Dorsal body of the snake is bluish grey with 37-51 broad black bands. Tail consists of 6-10 black bands. Ventral body is light coloured. Head is dorsally black & ventrally it’s grey. Eye contains a light coloured ring around it. Lips are light coloured.
Venom
They are highly venomous snakes but a death has never been recorded from Sri Lanka.
Dentition
Data not found.
Behavior
Data not found.
Breeding
This is an ovoviviparous snake. 3 offspring are produced one at a time in the ocean.
Growth
They grow up to 1000-1100mm.
Food
Their diet comprises of fish & eels.
Identification
The body scales are keeled & may even bear a tubercle in these snakes. Also ventrals are less than 300.
|
