''Sibynophis subpunctatus'', commonly known as Duméril's black-headed snake or Jerdon's many-toothed 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 ...

nonvenomous 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 ...

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 ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Behavior

''Sibynophis subpunctatus'' is active by day as well as at night. It lives in leaf litter, preying on

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

s, and smaller snakes.

Description

Maximum size is 18 inches (46 cm).

Rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: ...

nearly twice as broad as deep; suture between the

internasals In snakes, the internasal scales are those on top of the head between the scales that surround the nostrils. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. (7 ...

a little shorter than that between the prefrontals; frontal longer than its distance from the end of the snout, as long as the parietals or a little shorter; loreal longer than deep; one preocular; two postoculars, both in contact with the parietal; temporals 1 (or 2) + 2; 9 or 10 upper labials, fifth and sixth, or fourth, fifth, and sixth, entering the eye; eighth upper labial usually excluded from the labial margin, simulating a lower anterior temporal; 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shields, the first lower labial usually separated from its fellow by the mental; posterior chin shields a little longer than the anterior chin shields. Dorsal scales in 17 rows. Ventrals 151-220 (240 according to Blanford); anal divided; subcaudals 47-76. Pale brown above, with a vertebral series of small round black spots; usually a more or less distinct dark lateral line or series of dots; head and nape dark brown or black; lips, ''canthus rostralis'', a transverse line between the eyes, and two broad cross-bands, one in front and one behind the nape, all yellow; the dark colour often extending along the median line, bisecting the yellow collar; lower surfaces yellow, each shield with a black dot near its outer border. Boulenger, G.A. 1890. ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia''. Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor & Francis, Printers). London. xviii + 541 pp. (''Polyodontophis subpunctatus'', p. 303.) Sri Lankan specimens have 157 to 176 ventrals and 52-64 subcaudals.

Geographic range

''Sibynophis subpunctatus'' occurs in

, through most of

including the Western Ghats,

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

and pockets of

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 ...

as well as in

. Specimens from the Northeast of

are probably those of ''

Sibynophis sagittarius ''Sibynophis sagittarius'', commonly known as Cantor's black-headed snake after Theodore Cantor,Das, Indraneil. 2002. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India''. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. (''Sibyno ...

''. In

it is found mostly towards the west coast from

Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam ...

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

.
Accessed December 2006

References

Other references

* Duméril, A.M.C., G. Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril 1854 ''Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1)''. Paris, xvi + 780 S. * Sharma, Satish Kumar 1998 Range extension of the Dumeril's black-headed snake ''Sibynophis subpunctatus'' (Dum. & Bibr., 1854) Cobra 32: 32-33. * Vyas, Raju 1986 Extension of the range of Dumeril's black headed snake (''Sibynophis subpunctatus''). Hamadryad 11 (3): 24.

External links

* http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=6056 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2713753 Sibynophis Fauna of Maharashtra Reptiles of India Reptiles of Sri Lanka Reptiles described in 1854 Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by Auguste Duméril Reptiles of Bangladesh