''Aspidura ceylonensis'', also known as the Ceylon keelback, black-spined snake, or slender mould snake, is a

colubrid 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 ...

snake

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It is locally known as කුරුන් කරවලා (kurun karawala) or රත් කරවලා (rath karawala) in Sinhala.

Distribution

''Aspidura ceylonensis'' is a semi-fossorial snake from submontane forests. Restricted to submontane forests and plantations of the Central Highlands, including Pussellawa,

Gampola Gampola ( si, ගම්පොල, ta, கம்பளை) is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four yea ...

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places Canada * Hatton, Saskatchewan England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire * Hatton, Lincolnshire * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow * Hatton, Shropshire, a ...

, Knuckles,

Balangoda Balangoda is a large town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located away from Colombo and from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuw ...

, Pundaluoya,

Ramboda Ramboda is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. The Ramboda Road Tunnel is currently the longest road tunnel in Sri Lanka and is situated on the A5 highway (Perandenyia - Nuwara Eliya Road), close to Ramboda falls. ...

Kotagala Kotagala is a small town in the Nuwara Eliya District of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is located 35.8 km (22.2 mi) from Nuwara Eliya at an elevation of 1,247 m (4,091 ft) above sea level. Attractions * Devon Falls, a 97 ...

Namunukula Namunukula, literally "Nine Peaks" in Sinhala language, is the name of a mountain range in Sri Lanka's province of Uva. Its main peak is high. The nearby town is also sometimes called Namunukula Town. During the Ming treasure voyages of the 15 ...

, Mousakanda,

Gammaduwa Gammaduwa is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Matale District, Central Province with a picturesque landscape and temperate climate. It is situated at an elevation of 931 m (3,054 ft) above sea level. The area is mildly dense ...

, and

Kotmale Kotmale ( si, කොත්මලේ, translit=Kotmalē; ta, கொத்மலை, translit=Kotmalai) is a village in Sri Lanka in Central Province. Kotmale forms part of a mountainous region that the Sinhalese kings left forested to generate su ...

, up to about of elevation.

Description

Head is long and snout is broadly rounded. Neck is indistinct. The body is slender with cylindrical, short tail. Dorsal side is crimson brown with a black vertebral line, hence given the name. Dorsum of fore body is brown. Laterally there are a series of black spots in a line. Neck region has a dark brown marking. Venter is crimson colored. Adults are in length.

Scalation

Midbody has 17 scale rows. There are 162–207

ventral scales In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that conta ...

and 37–56

subcaudal scales In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...

. The scales are smooth and iridescent.

Ecology

It is a nocturnal and terrestrial snake that lives in damp soil, silted-up drains, beneath heaps of decaying leaves, and in similar places where there are earthworms, its primary prey.

Reproduction

Clutches of two to five eggs are produced in the months of August to November.

References

External links

Itis.gov

Animaldiversity.umz.umich.edu

Eol.org

Gbif.org
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3010292 Aspidura Snakes of Asia Reptiles of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Taxa named by Albert Günther Reptiles described in 1858