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Characteristics: A small snake with a broad and blunt snout. Its dorsal colouration is metallic grey with dark brown or black stripes. It is often pale yellow underneath. The shades of its colouration may vary with its geographic habitat which has led to the naming of numerous sub species which later on have been proved to be simply junior synonyms.

Behaviour: A docile snake that prefers coral reefs. Its comparatively well developed Ventrals enable it to move on land with limited ease.

Food: Confined to a strict piscivorous diet.

Breeding: Very little is known about its reproductive behaviour apart from the fact that it is viviparous.

Growth: Little is known about its growth pattern.

Venom: Little research conducted on the effects of its venom due to the paucity of specimens. However its venom is capable of killing a human being. So far no casualties on record and it is most advisable that a bite from this snake should be treated with Enhydrina schistosa antivenin.

Identification: This snake can be identified by its enlarged Nasals, compressed Prefrontal system and progressively broader anterior Ventral shields.

Lepidosis:

• Rostral: Touches four shields.
• Frontal: Touches six shields. Blunt anteriorly and sharp posteriorly.
• Supraoculars: Broad and long.
• Prefrontals: The entire system is as wide as the Frontal-Supraocular system but highly compressed.
• Parietals: Nearly thrice the size of the Frontal with a contact length nearly twice the length of the Frontal.
• Nasals: Enlarged and highly prominent. Divided into one larger and one smaller shield along the nostril which is situated towards the outer rear corner of the shield. The smaller shield touches the first and second pairs of Supralabials.
• Preoculars: Entire
• Postoculars: Entire
• Temporals: Divided into two shields.
• Supralabials: Eight pairs of which the last two are often obscure. The third, fourth and fifth pairs touch the eye. (Occasionally it may be only two)
• Mental: Stereotype in form.
• Infralabials: Four pairs of which the first pair is unusually elongated and touch behind the Mental. The line of contact is longer than usual. The last pair is the largest.
• Sublinguals: Both pairs equal in size with the Posterior pair nearly separated by smaller scales.

• Costals: Takes the form of a nearly perfect hexagon with a median ridge.
• Ventrals: 235 to 276

Dentition:

• Maxillary: 4 to 5
• Palatine: 7
• Pterygoid: 17
• Mandibular: 16 to 17

Distribution: Persian Gulf, Bay of Bengal, Malay Archipelago and Indonesia.

A rare specie which has been sporadically recorded from the western coast of Sri Lanka.

References:

WALL, Frank: Snakes of Ceylon (1921)