Oligodon affinis

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Western Kukri

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Oligodon
Species:	O. affinis

Binomial name

Oligodon affinis
Günther, 1862^[1]

The Western Kukri (Oligodon affinis) is a species of snake found in the Western Ghats of India. They are brown above with a reddish patch appearing like a bird silhouette on the head. The underside is patterned in yellow and black.

Underside pattern

[edit] Description

See snake scales for terminology used

Scales smooth. 17 mid body scales rows. Ventrals 128-133 in males, 130-145 in females. Anals 2, paired subcaudals 31-36 in males and 23-30 in females. 7 Subralabials with 3 and 4 touching eye. Loreal absent.^[2]

Nasal divided; portion of rostral seen from above half as long as its distance from the frontal; suture between the internasals as long as that between the prefrontals, or a little shorter; frontal much longer than its distance from the end of the snout, as long as the parietals; no loreal, the posterior nasal sometimes forming a suture with the preocular; preocular single, two postoculars, temporals 1+2 or 1+1+2; upper labials 7, third and fourth entering the eye; 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shields; posterior chin-shields about two thirds the length of the anterior. Scales in 17 rows. Ventrals 129-142; anal divided; subcaudals 25-36. Brown above, with more or less distinct darker cross-lines; head with dark symmetrical transverse markings, which are usually connected by a median longitudinal streak. Lower surface white ( in spirit) with square black spots, both colours being distributed in nearly equal proportion. ^[3]

Total length 13 inches; tail 2.

[edit] References

^ Günther, Albert 1862 On new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 9: 52-67.
^ Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004 Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp.
^ Boulenger, G. A. 1890. Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.