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AN INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN REPTILES
(Crocodile)
Habit : Carnivore.
Habitat : Rivers, swamps and marshes.
Diagnostic Characters : The length is 3 - 5 m. The snout is short and broad. The adult is dark olive and the juvenile pale, with black spots. The body is shielded by an overall armature of closely set, horn-sheathed, bony plates, with saw-toothed fringes along the upper border of the tail. The upper jaw has 19 teeth and the lower jaw 14 – 15 on each side.
Global Distribution : South Asia.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India except Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and the Northwestern Desert Region.
Status : Vulnerable.
Melanochelys
trijuga trijuga Schweigger
(Peninsular black turtle or Indian snail eating turtle)
Habit : Aquatic.
Habitat : Ponds, lakes, wetlands.
Diagnostic Characters : It is medium-sized, with a length of 23 cm. or slightly more. The head is small, greyish or olivaceous and the snout is shorter than the orbit. The carapace is moderately depressed, tricarinate, the lateral margins slightly reverted, the posterior margin feebly serrated in the young. Tail is very short. Limbs are flattened and with completely webbed digits.
Distribution : Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and TamilNadu.
Status : Possibly vulnerable.
Lissemys punctata punctata Lacepede
(Indian flap shelled turtle)
Habit : Omnivorous, diurnal.
Habitat : Ponds, lakes, wetlands.
Diagnostic Characters : It is a small, flat turtle, generally less than 24 cm. in length. The head is moderately large, the snout is short and broad. Limbs are fully webbed, with only three claws on each feet. Tail is very short, olive-brown above. Carapace is grey-green, with numerous black-bordered yellow spots, irregularly arranged and with a light yellow marginal rim.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Indian soft shell turtle)
Habit : Aquatic, Omnivorous.
Habitat : Ponds, lakes, wetlands.
Diagnostic Characters : Disc olive-green above, sometimes vermiculated with yellowish. Head greenish, with a black longitudinal streak from between the eyes on to the nape and three oblique black streaks on either side diverging from it, below whitish. Four plastral callosities, in old individuals sometimes a fifth upon the entoplastron.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan.
Regional Distribution : Drainages of Indus, Ganges, Mahanadi, Narmada, Tapti and Brahmaputra.
Status : Vulnerable.
(Indian termite hill gecko)
Habit : Terrestrial.
Habitat : Leaf litter, termite mounds, commensal.
Diagnostic Characters : Dorsal surface buff with a greenish tinge, with scattered white tubercles; three pale olive-green cross-bars, each edged with white; supraocular region leaf-green. Ventral surface pinkish-white. Head rather large, snout obtusely pointed; belly with large, smooth, rounded, imbricate scales. Digits free, moderately dilated, with slightly oblique lamellae.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India.
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
(Common garden lizard)
Habit : Arboreal, insectivorous.
Habitat : Bushes, gardens, hedges, jungles.
Diagnostic Characters : Light brown or greyish above, uniform or with more or less distinct dark brown transverse spots or bars upon the back and sides; or variegated with dark brown; dark streaks radiating from the eye. Tail with light and dark annuli. Dirty whitish below, often streaked with dark brown or black. The throat may have a black transverse bar; nuchal and dorsal crest continuous.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Eastern
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Northern Maharashtra, Western Uttar Pradesh.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
Calotes
rouxi Dumeril & Bibron
(Roux’s forest lizard)
Habit : Arboreal, Insectivorous.
Habitat : Bushes, gardens, hedges, jungles.
Diagnostic Characters : Olive brown above, the top of the head and vertebral region rather light; a dark band along the side of the head on to the neck; ante-humeral fold black; dark lines radiating from the eye. Below light brownish. In life the upper part of the head, nape and gular pouch may be brick-red.
Distribution : India; Maharashtra, Travancore.
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
(Fan throated lizard)
Habit : Terrestrial.
Habitat : Forest.
Diagnostic Characters : Light or dark brown above, with a series of dark brown, black-edged, rhomboidal spots along the middle of the back; a more or less distinct light line along each side of the spots and sometimes a light vertebral line dividing them. Flanks, top of head and upper surfaces of limbs with or without dark markings. Whitish below.
Global Distribution : India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India except wet areas (with heavy rainfall).
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
Chamaeleon
zeylanicus Laurenti
(Indian chamaeleon)
Habit : Arboreal, insectivorous.
Habitat : Forest.
Diagnostic Characters : The length from snout to vent is about 175 mm., tail prehensile, about 200 mm. long. Dorsal side green, varying from very pale green to almost black, rarely yellow; casque much elevated posteriorly; with strong, curved parietal crest. A series of conical tubercles forming a very distinct crest along the throat and belly, tail often banded.
Global Distribution : India, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Peninsular India south of the Gangetic Plain.
Status : Near threatened.
(Common keeled grass skink)
Habit : Diurnal, insectivorous, occasionally feed on small vertebrates.
Habitat : Terrestrial, commensal to man.
Diagnostic Characters : Brown to olive or bronzy above, uniform or with dark brown or black spots, or longitudinal streaks along the lateral margins of the scales. Sides darker brown or chestnut, with or without light spots. A light dorso-lateral line starting from above the eye and continued to the base of the tail. Lower parts whitish or yellow.
Global Distribution : India, Nepal.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India except Northwestern India and West Bengal.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Common Indian monitor)
Habit : Terrestrial, mainly carnivorous.
Habitat : Forest, marshy land, river bank, semi-arid, tidal creek and the sea coast.
Diagnostic Characters : It is a medium-sized, dark brown monitor, about 72-75 cm. in head and body length. The tail is very strong, long, compressed and measures about 100 cm. in length. The snout is convex terminally. The nostrils are oblique slits lying midway between the eye and the end of the muzzle. The tongue is very long, forked and protrusible.
Global Distribution : Indian subcontinent.
Regional Distribution : Central India, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh.
Status : Vulnerable.
Ramphotyphlops braminus Daudin
(Common blind snake)
Habit : Fossorial.
Habitat : Various settlements, plantations, gardens.
Diagnostic Characters : Length about 170 mm.; colouration brown or blackish above, lighter below, snout, anal region and end of tail usually whitish. Snout rounded, strongly projecting; nostrils lateral; eye distinct, in the ocular shield or at its junction with the supraocular; 290-320 transverse rows of scales.
Global Distribution : India, Indo-China, South-East Asia, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Andaman & Nicobar islands, Southern and Eastern India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
Typhlops
acutus Dumeril & Bibron
(Beaked worm snake)
Habit : Fossorial.
Habitat : Settlements, plantations, gardens, forest.
Diagnostic Characters : Total length about 600 mm., colouration brown above, pale below, in many individuals each scale of the back and sides has a pale yellow centre. Snout pointed and hooked, projecting strongly, with sharp horizontal edge, nostrils inferior. Tail ending in a small spine.
Distribution : South of the Ganges Basin and South of Rajasthan, west to Baroda and east to Calcutta.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Common sand boa)
Habit : Terrestrial and arboreal.
Habitat : Varied, semi-arid, arid, moist, dry deciduous forest, evergreen, semi-evergreen forest, scrub forest.
Diagnostic Characters : Total length 480-940 mm., tail 35-55 mm.; colouration yellowish, brownish or greyish above, with a dorsal series of large, dark brown, black-edged spots, usually confluent with one another to form a zig-zag stripe; lower parts yellowish or whitish, the outer scale-rows with small brown spots; tail pointed.
Global Distribution : India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Most of India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Red sand boa)
Habit : Fossorial.
Habitat : Croplands, grasslands, dry deciduous forests, evergreen, semi-evergreen forests, scrub forest.
Diagnostic Characters : Total length 89-100 cm., tail 80-90 cm.. Body sandy grey or yellowish above; uniform or with more or less distinct dark transverse bands, these bands usually distinct on the tail. Lower parts whitish, spotted with dark brown, or almost entirely brown. Scales in 53-67 rows, more or less distinctly keeled. Tail blunt, covered at the tip with a large rounded shield.
Global Distribution : India, Pakistan.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India.
Status : Lowe risk-least concern.
(Indian rock python)
Habit : Terrestrial, arboreal.
Habitat : Varied : semi-arid, arid, moist and dry deciduous, evergreen, semi-evergreen forest and wet rocky areas near streams and pools.
Diagnostic Characters : Body length ranges from 2.5-4.5 m. The head is distinct from the neck and has symmetrical shields. The eyes have vertical pupils. The scales on the body are smooth and are arranged in 60-75 rows. The tail is rather short. The colour of the body varies from pale grey to yellow above, and is yellow below. A dorsal series of large walnut coloured crown saddlers alternate with pinkish laterals.
Global Distribution : India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Gangetic Plains, Peninsular India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Common wolf snake)
Habit : Terrestrial.
Habitat : Scrub, moist deciduous forests.
Diagnostic Characters : Snout more or less spatulate and projecting beyond the lower jaw. Body colouration brown or greyish-brown above, with 12-19 white cross-bars which expand laterally or bifurcate, enclosing triangular patches; the bars may be pure white or heavily speckled with brown, they are sometimes reduced to short vertebral spots. Upper lip white or spotted with brown.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Maharashtra and South India.
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
(Rat snake)
Habit : Diurnal, rat eater.
Habitat : Terrestrial, usually found near storage places, grassy field, cultivated land.
Diagnostic Characters : Body olive-green, brown, yellowish or greyish above, with irregular but strongly marked black cross-bars on the posterior half of the body. Yellowish-white below, the posterior ventrals and subcaudals edged with black. Maxillary teeth 20-25. Scales in 16 or 17 rows at mid-body; V. 190-213, C. 100-146, A.2.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan.
Regional Distribution : Madhya Pradesh, North Maharashtra, Part of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh.
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
(Striped keel back)
Habit : Terrestrial, semi-aquatic.
Habitat : Paddy fields, marshes.
Diagnostic Characters : Olive-greenish or brownish above with black spots or reticulated cross-bars intersected by two dorso-lateral yellow or buff stripes; on the hind part of the body the stripes are best marked and the black spots least evident, the green colour being almost uniform dark-olive. Lower parts whithish. Top of head olive, uniform or the shields edged with black, lips yellowish.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
Xenochrophis
piscator Schneider
(Checkered keel back)
Habit : Semi-aquatic.
Habitat : Vicinity of fresh water bodies.
Diagnostic Characters : Body olivaceous or yellowish above, whitish or yellowish below. Maxillary teeth 22-28, gradually enlarged posteriorly, nostrils directed slightly upwards. Scales in 19 rows, more or less distinctly keeled, except the outer one or two rows which are smooth.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Southern India.
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
Macropisthodon
plumbicolor Cantor
(Green keelback)
Habit : Diurnal, terrestrial.
Habitat : Found in green as well as open deciduous forests, mainly in hilly region.
Diagnostic Characters : Head rather broad and short, nostril between two nasals. Body colour grass-green above, a black stripe from the eye to the angle of the mouth and more or less regular transverse black spots or cross-bars on the back and tail. Belly whitish, yellow or plumbeons, rarely with darkish spots.
Global Distribution : India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, North Maharashtra, Part of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Common trinket snake)
Habit : Semi-arboreal.
Habitat : Scrub to moist deciduous.
Diagnostic Characters : Light or dark brown above; with dark brown or black cross-bars containing white ocelli, these are most conspicuous anteriorly and on the sides more than on the back, this pattern gradually disappears on the hinder part of the body, which is brown above with a broad dark stripe on each side; a black vertical streak below the eye and an oblique one behind it, lower parts yellowish.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Maharashtra, Southern India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Common Indian bronze-back)
Habit : Arboreal.
Habitat : Scrub to moist deciduous.
Diagnostic Characters : Bronze-brown or purplish-brown above, light greyish, greenish or yellowish below. A more or less distinct buff flank stripe along the outer two scale rows, edged or spotted with black, an indistinct black temporal stripe extending on to the neck, where it may break up into vertical bars, vertebral scales on neck, where it may break up into vertical bars. Upper lip yellow.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Maharashtra, South India.
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
(Common cat snake)
Habit : Arboreal.
Habitat : Scrub jungle, dry deciduous, moist deciduous, plantations and rural settlements.
Diagnostic Characters : Light yellowish or greyish-brown above, uniform or speckled with darker and with a vertebral series of large, light, black edged, angular or Y-shaped or inverted-V shaped spots, which may be connected to one another on the vertebral line. Lower parts whitish, uniform or with small black spots on the outer margins of the ventrals. Head with light symmetrical markings, sometimes black-edged.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Central and Southern India.
Status : Lower risk-least concern.
(Olive keelback water snake)
Habit : Semi-aquatic.
Habitat : Vicinity of fresh water bodies.
Diagnostic Characters : Olive-brown or greenish above, uniform or with two series of small black spots along the back. A more or less distinct dark lateral streak sometimes present. Upper lip, outer row of scales, and lower surfaces yellow. Scales in 19:19:17 rows, more or less distinctly keeled, the keels strongest on the posterior part of the body and tail.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Peninsular India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Common vine snake)
Habit : Arboreal.
Habitat : Scrub jungle, dry deciduous, moist deciduous, evergreen.
Diagnostic Characters : Verdant green above, the interstitial skin black and white, forming oblique lines, best marked on the anterior half of the body. Pale green below, a white or yellow line along the outer margin of the ventrals. Lips sometimes yellowish, throat white, sometimes bluish. Snout acuminate, terminating in a pointed dermal appendage, variable in length, shorter than the eye.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Common krait)
Habit : Nocturnal, carnivorous, terrestrial (mainly).
Habitat : Fields, low scrub jungle, human habitation, frequently near or in water.
Diagnostic Characters : Length usually less than 2 m. Black or bluish-black above with narrow white cross-bars, which are least distinct on the anterior part of the body, or entirely absent. The eyes are small and very dark which makes the pupil almost invisible.
Global Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Cobra)
Habit : Diurnal.
Habitat : Fields, forests, termite hills, rat holes.
Diagnostic Characters : Colour variable, generally brownish to blackish. Head not very distinct from the neck, dilatable into a hood, the anterior ribs being elongate. A monocle or spectacle mark or no mark present on the hood. Eyes moderate, pupil round. Scales smooth, in 19-25 rows, no occipital shields.
Global Distribution : Africa, Malaysia, Southern Asia.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Russell’s viper)
Habit : Nocturnal.
Habitat : Dry and semi-arid tracts and open country.
Diagnostic Characters : Body length 3-4 feet but occasionally can reach 6 feet. Scales in 27-33 rows, supranasal strongly crescentic. Snout obtuse, with distinct canthus, nostrils very large. Light brown above, with 3 longitudinal series of large rounded or oval spots, which are usually brown in the centre, have a black margin and are edged again with white.
Global Distribution : Burma, India, Indo-China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Regional Distribution : Throughout India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.
(Saw scaled viper)
Habit : Terrestrial.
Habitat : Scrub to desert.
Diagnostic Characters : Pale brown or greyish or sandy above with a vertebral series of pale dark edged spots which are connected on each side with a light inverted-U or inverted-V shaped mark enclosing a dark area, these spots are usually more or less connected with one another and form an undulating light line along the side of the body. A cruciform mark on top of the head, behind the eyes. Whitish below, uniform or spotted with brown.
Global Distribution : Endemic to India.
Regional Distribution : Central and Southern India.
Status : Lower risk-near threatened.