The Indian or Long-nosed vine snake (''Ahaetulla oxyrhyncha'') is a species of diurnal, mildly

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

snake distributed in the lowlands of

peninsular India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

.Often mistakenly believed to peck out peoples' eyes, this misconception has, sadly, led to widespread wanton killing of this species.

Description

A thin and slender-bodied snake that is usually bright grassy green in colour. A pair of white lines extend throughout its body length demarcating the back and under belly parts. Adults reach over 5 feet in length. They have unique horizontal

pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...

in the

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

. Formerly mis-classified as''A. nasuta'', ''A. oxyrhyncha'' is actually a much larger-bodied species that also has a much longer snout.

Geographic range

This species is distributed throughout the drier plains and low hilly tracts of Peninsular

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, except the Western Ghats

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

Habitat

It is found in many types of vegetation including

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

habitats and in dry deciduous forests, as well as open areas such as scrub forests, coastal forests, and Indian savannah. This species has been often sighted in and around human habitations in villages and countrysides and even in some city Parks.

Taxonomy

It was described as a distinct species in 1825 based on drawings of snakes from

Vishakapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...

, but later considered as same species and confused with '' A. nasuta'', that is only endemic to Sri Lanka. A 2020 study found ''A. nasuta'' to be a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

of ''A. nasuta

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' and several species endemic to the Western Ghats ('' A. borealis'', '' A. farnsworthi'', '' A. isabellina'', and '' A. malabarica)''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q102109393 oxyrhyncha Reptiles of India Endemic fauna of India Snakes of Asia Reptiles described in 1825