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Characteristics: A small snake with an olive brown dorsal colouration. It has a light brown ventral area and dark bands which become obscured with age. It has a pointed snout and non-evident neck.

Behaviour: A docile and calm snake which prefers to stay close to the beach.

Food: Strictly piscivorous.

Breeding: Very little known apart from the fact that it is viviparous and the broad size is under 5.

Growth: It is assumed that upon birth neonates measure around 300mm. Little is known about its growth pattern. These snakes reach sexual maturity when around 70cm long. Reaches a maximum length of around 90cm.

Venom: Little research has been conducted on the effects of its venom on man. However it does have a highly virulent venom that could well be capable of killing a human being within a matter of hours. So far no casualties have been recorded. If bitten the victim should be given an antivenin prepared from Enhydrina schistosa or Australian Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) venom.

Identification: This snake can be identified by its unique temporal shield which is fused the sixth pair of Infralabials.

Lepidosis:

• Rostral: Wide and touches four shields.
• Frontal: Long and slender widest at the point where the Supraoculars and Parietals touch.
• Supraocular: Slender and long, more than half the length of the Frontal.
• Parietals: The largest shield system on the head of the snake. Slender and long with the line of contact as long as the Frontal shield.
• Prefrontals: Broad and compressed between the Nasals and Frontal-Supraocular system.
• Nasals: Entire with the nostril situated at the outer anterior corner of the shield.
• Loreals: Absent
• Preoculars: Entire
• Postoculars: Entire
• Temporals: Fused with the sixth pair of Supralabials.
• Supralabials: Seven pairs of which the third and fourth touch the eye. The seventh is minute while the sixth is fused with the Temporal shield.
• Mental: Laterally rounded and has a sharp posterior.
• Infralabials: Three pairs of which the first is curved inwards.
• Sublinguals: Divided into Anterior and Posterior pairs which once combined form a characteristic system with the first pair of Infralabials.
• Costals: Hexagonal with a median keel.
• Ventrals: Entire and comprise 219 to 248 rows.

Dentition:

• Maxillary: 7 to 9
• Palatine: 8 to 10
• Pterygoid: 12 to 16
• Mandibular: 17 to 19

Distribution: Laccadive Sea, Bay of Bengal, Malay Archipelago and Indonesia.

References:

WALL, Frank: Snakes of Ceylon (1921)