''Calliophis nigriscens'', commonly known as the black coral snake or striped coral snake, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
venom
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 ...
ous
elapid
Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydoceph ...
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
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 ...
to the
Western Ghats,
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 ...
.
[
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Geographic range
It is found in India in the Western Ghats, Karwar
Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India.
Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...
, Wayanad
Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...
, Nilgiris
The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
, Anamalai
The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of west ...
, and the Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
hills at .
Description
:''See snake scales
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints ...
for terms used.''
Rostral broader than long; frontal as long as its distance from the end of the snout, much shorter than the parietals; one preocular and two postoculars; a single temporal; seven upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye; anterior chin shields as long as the posterior or a little shorter, in contact with four labials.
Dorsal scales in 13 rows. Ventrals 232–261; anal usually divided; subcaudals 33–44.
This species comprises several colour varieties, which are connected by insensible gradations; in all the head and nape are black, with an oblique yellow band, sometimes broken up into spots, on each side from the parietals to behind the angle of the mouth, and the upper lip is yellow in front of and behind the eye; lower parts uniform red.[Boulenger GA. 1890. ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (''Callophis'' ic''nigrescens'', pp. 384–385).]
Color variations include the following:
*A. Dark purplish brown above, with three or five longitudinal series of black, light-edged spots.
*B. The spots confluent and forming three longitudinal black bands edged with whitish.
*C. Intermediate between A and B.
*D. Dark purplish brown above, with three or five more or less distinct black stripes, which are not light-edged.
*E. Pale reddish brown or red above, with five black stripes.
References
Further reading
* Das I. 2002. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (''Calliophis nigriscens'', p. 52).
* Günther A. 1862. On New Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'', Series 3, 9: 124–132. (''Callophis'' ic''nigrescens'', pp. 131–132).
* Slowinski, Joseph B.; Boundy, Jeff; Lawson, R. 2001. The phylogenetic relationships of Asian coral snakes (Elapidae: ''Calliophis'' and ''Maticora'') based on morphological and molecular characters. ''Herpetologica'' 57 (2): 233–245.
* Smith MA. 1943. ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (''Callophis'' ic''nigriscens'', pp. 422–423).
* Vyas, Raju. 1988. Extension range of the striped coral snake (''Callophis nigrescens''). ''Hamadryad'' 13 (2): 3–4.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2934225
nigrescens
Snakes of India
Endemic fauna of India
Reptiles described in 1862
Taxa named by Albert Günther