Indian Snakes

Indian subcontinent boasts of housing approximately 10 percent of the total snake

species found in the world, adding up to somewhere around 200 species in number.
From warm seas to semi-deserts, swamps, lakes and even the Himalayan glaciers,
one can find snakes in almost all the habitats in India. The snakes of India range
from Worm Snakes, about 10 cm in length, to the King Cobra, measuring upto 6
m. In the following lines, we have mentioned the four most popular species of
Indian snakes:

Cobra
Cobra, scientifically known as Naja naja, is one of the poisonous snake species
native to the Indian subcontinent. It grows to an average height of 1 m and has two
circular ocelli patterns on the rear of its hood. These patterns seem to be connected
by a curved line, giving the look of spectacles.

King Cobra
Indian King cobra snake belongs to the Ophiophagus
Genus and is scientifically known as Ophiophagus
Hannah. It is believed to be the largest poisonous
terrestrial snake, measuring upto 5.7 m in length.
However, the weight of a King cobra rarely exceeds 44
lb (20 kg). 

Python
Python snake, also known as Ajgar, is one of the most massively built snakes of
the Indian subcontinent. It belongs to the Boidae Family and is dependent on water
to quite an extent. One of the unique features of the Rock pythons of India is that
they can raise their body temperature above the ambient level, through muscular
contractions. 

Russells Viper
Russells Viper is known by a number of other names, like Daboia, Tic Polonga,
etc. A highly poisonous snake of the Viperidae family, it is scientifically known as
Vipera russelli. Indian Russell's viper is responsible for most of the snakebite
deaths within its habitat

Saw-scaled viper 
Echis carinatus 

Description: Color is light buff with shades of brown, dull red, or gray. Its sides
have a white or light-colored pattern. Its head usually has two dark stripes that start
behind the eye and extend to the rear.

Characteristics: A small but extremely dangerous viper. It gets the name saw-
scaled from rubbing the sides of its body together, producing a rasping sound. This
ill-tempered snake will attack any intruder. Its venom is highly hemotoxic and
quite potent. Many deaths are attributed to this species.

Habitat: Found in a variety of environments. It is common in rural settlements,

cultivated fields, arid regions, barns, and rock walls.

Length: Average 45 centimeters, maximum 60 centimeters.

Distribution: Asia, Syria, India, Africa, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan,
Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Egypt, and Israel.

Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus is a venomous pitviper species found in parts

of India andSoutheast Asia. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the
nominate subspecies described here.[5]

Description

Males grow to a total length of 66.5 cm, females 90 cm. The tail lengths are then
12.5 cm and 14 cm respectively.[6]

Scales in 25-27 longitudinal rows at midbody; 11-13 upper labials, the first

partially or completely united with the nasal; supraocular very narrow, sometimes
broken into small scales, 12-15 scales between them; head scales small, subequal,
tuberculate or granular; temporal scales keeled; body color highly variable, above
olive, grayish, to dark purplish brown, below whitish, greenish or brown, uniform
or spotted with brown; a light line on scale row one bordering ventrals present or
absent; head olive, heavily suffused with brown; ventrals: males 160-179, females
168-183; subcaudals: males 74-76, females 56-63, paired; hemipenes without
spines.[6]

Bungarus is a genus of venomous elapid snakes found in South and South-East

Asia. Commonly referred to as kraits, there are 12 species and 5 subspecies.

[edit]Distribution

Kraits are found in the Indian subcontinent (including Sri Lanka and

eastern Pakistan) and southeast Asia (including Indonesia and Borneo).[1]
[edit]Description

Kraits usually range between 1 to 1.5 m in length, although specimens as large as

2 m have been observed. The Banded Krait (B. fasciatus) may grow as large as
2.5 m. Most species of krait are covered in smooth glossy scales that are arranged
in bold striped patterns of alternating black and light-colored areas. This gives the
snake camouflage in its habitat of grassland and scrub jungle. The scales along
the dorsal ridge of the back are hexagonal. The head is slender and the eyes have
round pupils. Kraits have a pronounced dorso-lateral flattening, and are triangular
in cross-section. The tail tapers to a thin point.

Flower and Snake (花と蛇 Hana to hebi?) aka Flowers and Serpents (1974) is a

Japanese soft-core S/M film starring Naomi Tani, directed by Masaru Konuma and
produced by Nikkatsu. Based on a novel by Oniroku Dan (b. 1931), Japan's best-
known author of S&M fiction, Flower and Snake was the first of Nikkatsu’s
Roman Porno films to deal with an S&M theme. Together with the later Wife to be
Sacrificed (also directed by Konuma in 1974, and starring the same female and
male leads) this film is credited with starting the S&M Roman Porno series which
helped save Nikkatsu from collapse during the 1970s.[1]

Rat snakes are medium to large constrictors that can be found through a great

portion of thenorthern hemisphere. They feed primarily on rodents and birds and,
with some species exceeding 10 feet, they can occupy top levels of some food
chains. Many species make attractive and docile pets and one, the corn snake, is
one of the most popular reptile pets in the world. Other species can be very skittish
and sometimes aggressive but bites are seldom serious and no species of ratsnake
is dangerous to humans. They were long thought to be completely nonvenomous,
but recent studies have shown that at least some Old World species do possess
small amounts of venom (amounts so small as to be negligible to humans).

Previously most rat snakes were assigned to the genus Elaphe but many have been
since renamed following mitochondrial DNA analysis performed in 2002. For the
purpose of this article names will be harmonized with the TIGR Database. When
searching for information on a particular species of rat snake it might be useful to
query the old name, Elaphe sp., as well as the new.