Atretium
Atretium | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Atretium Cope, 1861 |
Species: | A. schistosum
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Binomial name | |
Atretium schistosum (Daudin, 1803)
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Atretium schistosum, the split keelback or olive keelback wart snake, is a species of snake found in South Asia. It is a common and harmless watersnake.
Distribution
Found in
Description
It is a small, robust snake with thin head, short snout and slit nostrils placed rather high. The snake is olive-green and yellow to orange below. It is sometimes tinged with pink or purplish on the flanks. The length of the tail is one third to one-fourth of the total length.
The scales are rough because they are keeled. Specimens from South India have a distinct reddish line along the 5th and 6th or the 4th and 5th up to the vent. This line is brighter in the males. The females are between 70 and 75 cm long, and the males between 50 and 60 cm. The longest measured snake is 87 cm long.
The olive keelback is found near water or among the surrounding vegetation.
Identifying characteristics
The snake is distinguished by a number of scale characteristics:
- Single internasal.
- Nineteen rows of costals.
- 8 or 9 supralabials (upper lip shields).
Can easily be confused with olive forest Snake (Rhabdops olivaceus).
Habits
Lives in water or among the surrounding vegetation.
A diurnal snake, it is seen at night also. The snakes rarely bite when handled. It is known to aestivate in the summer.
The olive keelback feeds mainly on frogs, tadpoles, fish and crabs which it catches with a side-stroke motion that is characteristic of watersnakes. The snake swims past the prey and suddenly snaps its head to the side. The olive keelback is also known to eat mosquito larvae (Whitaker).
Sometimes, referred to as a water-cobra, the olive keelback is nevertheless tolerated by people.
Reproduction
It is
Local names
- Tamil - KOraipaambu or Pachai thanneer paambu
- Kannada – Barmmya.
- Telugu – Nalla wahlagillee
- Sinhala – Diya Warnaya
- Bangla – Mete shap.
References
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2014) ) |
- Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp.
- Cantor, T. E. 1839 Spicilegium serpentium indicorum [parts 1 and 2]. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 7: 31–34, 49–55.
- Daudin 1802 Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles. vol. 7. Paris: Dufart [1802], 436 pp.
- Günther, A. 1898 Notes on Indian snakes in captivity. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) 1: 30
- Wall, FRANK 1921 Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo Mus. (H. R. Cottle, government printer), Colombo. xxii, 581 pages