''Ahaetulla laudankia'', known as the Laudankia vine snake, is a species of snake in the family

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...

. It is endemic to India and while being a rare species, it has a relatively large range, extending from the Eastern Ghats through

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

west to eastern Rajasthan. Its name derives from the

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

term ''laudanka'', which translates to "dried stems of bottle gourd, as the snake closely resembles them with its thin body and brownish color.

References

laudankia Reptiles of India Endemic fauna of India Reptiles described in 2019 Taxa named by Veerappan Deepak {{snake-stub