Himalayan Mountain Keelback, Herpetoreas platyceps
Himalayan Mountain Keelback is a non-venomous species of grass snake under Natricidae family. The species is regarded as endemic to South Asia. The snake species possess the following physiological characteristics: The body of the species is generally olive-brown above having small black spots dorsally; there are two black lines running parallel to each other towards the nape; a black streak runs on lateral sides of the head from eye to gape (corner of mouth); on the ventral side belly is usually yellowish, with blackish dots sometimes while sometime not; often a black line or series of blackish spots are present laterally whereas the underside of tail is frequently spotted with blackish; throat may appear sometimes black. Moderate eyes; rostral evident from above; suture present between the internasals; frontal are longer than its distance from the end of the snout & shorter than the parietals; loreal l; preocular 1; Postoculars 2-3; temporals, 1+1 or 2+2; Super labials 7-8, 3-5 are in contact with eye; Infra labials 4-5 & are in contact with the anterior chin shields, which are reported much shorter than the chin shields of posterior side. Maxillary teeth are 18-22 where last 2-3 are prominently engorged. Dorsal scales are feebly keeled in rows (19:19:17); ventral’s scales are 177-235; anal paired & subcaudals are 75-107 (paired).
Image Source: indiansnakes.org
The total length of the species observed is 3 ft. Tail is observed to be moderate size in these snakes. This species of snake is observed to be quick & of shy nature usually flee when encountered. The specimens of this species are oviparous. The species is distributed along the Himalayan region of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan & China between the altitudes ranging from 1000 - 3600 m.asl.
Scientific
classification
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Kingdom:
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Animalia
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Phylum:
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Chordata
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Class:
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Reptilia
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Order:
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Squamata
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Suborder:
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Serpentes
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Family:
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Natricidae
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Genus:
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Herpetoreas
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Species:
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platyceps
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Binomial
name
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Herpetoreas platyceps (Blyth, 1854)
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In India the species has been recorded from places such as; Jammu & Kashmir (Doda (1,830–2,175 m.asl), Poonch & Srinagar) Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Darjeeling, Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh.
The species is commonly prefer hills and mountain terrain to thrive, it is a terrestrial & diurnal snake feeds mainly on lizards, frogs, fishes etc.
Literature Cited:
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Daniel, J.C. 1983. The Book of Indian Reptiles. Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford University press, Mumbai, India.
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http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Herpetoreas&species=platyceps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_keelback
http://www.indiansnakes.org/content/himalayan%20keelback
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Malnate, E. V. 1966. Amphiesma platyceps (BLYTH) and Amphiesma sieboldii (GÜNTHER): sibling species (Reptilia: Serpentes). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 63 (1): 1-17 - get paper here
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