''Lycodon chithrasekarai'', also known commonly as the Chithrasekara's bridal 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 snake in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

. The species is

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 ...

Appearance

Anterior body consist with solid white bands and a checkered appearance on the posterior lateral body. Consecutive bands are coalesce along the ventro-lateral margin. Nuchal band is flat. Pre-ocular scale absent. Cloacal shield divided.

Distribution

The snake is recorded from Kanneliya Forest Reserve, Sri Pada Forest, Runa Kanda and Deniyaya areas.

References

chithrasekarai Snakes of Asia Reptiles of Sri Lanka Reptiles described in 2020 {{Colubrinae-stub