Herpetology Notes, volume 4: 421-423 (2011) (published online on 9 December 2011)
New records of Oligodon taeniolatus (Jerdon, 1853)
(Reptilia: Colubridae) in Andhra Pradesh, India
Midathala Seetharamaraju, Chelmala Srinivasulu* and Bhargavi Srinivasulu
Herpetofaunal surveys carried out in the recent
past have resulted in the detection of species hitherto
unknown from the state of Andhra Pradesh, India and
have extended the distribution range of several of these
(Srinivasulu and Das, 2008). Three species of Oligodon
Fitzinger 1826 (Serpentes, Colubridae) – O. arnensis
(Shaw, 1802), O. taeniolatus (Jerdon, 1853) and O.
travancoricus Beddome, 1877 have been reported to
occur in Andhra Pradesh (Srinivasulu and Das, 2008).
The first two species are relatively well known, albeit
from relatively few localities. Within this note we
present additional sightings of O. taeniolatus from
Andhra Pradesh recorded between March 2009 and
July 2011. The observations constitute a photo voucher
Department of Zoology, University College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 500007, India
*Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected]
and a road killed specimen, which has been deposited
in the Natural History Museum of Osmania University,
Hyderabad.
Oligodon taeniolatus (English name – Streaked/
Variegated Kukri Snake) is a slender, non-venomous
snake which is active during day and night, while
frequently observed at dusk. It mostly feeds on bird,
reptile and amphibian eggs (Whitaker and Captain,
2004, Green, Orlov and Murphy, 2010). This species
is one among 70 species in the genus Oligodon, the
kukri snakes, which are distributed throughout much of
South and Southeast Asia (Green, Orlov and Murphy,
2010). Oligodon taeniolatus is a common species which
ranges from India to eastern Iran, northward to southern
Turkmenistan, and east and southwards to Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka (Das, 1994; 1996; Bauer, 2003; Whitaker
and Captain, 2004; Green, Orlov and Murphy, 2010)
(Fig. 1). In India, the species has been recorded from
Figure 1. Distribution of Oligodon taeniolatus. Global distribution (inset, hatched area); Past records (yellow circles) and recent
records (red circles) from Andhra Pradesh, India.
422
Midathala Seetharamaraju et al.
Figure 2. Oligodon taeniolatus from Ananthagiri in Eastern Ghats, Vishakapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu
and Uttarakhand. In Andhra Pradesh, this species was
previously known from Appapur (16°10’N, 78°40’E,
altitude 800 m), Mahbubnagar District, Sundipenta
(16°03’N, 78°54’E, altitude 471 m), Kurnool District,
Pedda Dornala (15°55’N, 79°05’E, altitude 250 m),
Prakasam District and Kunavaram (16°31’N, 82°03’E,
altitude 7 m), East Godavari District (Rao et al.,
2005; Sharma, 1971; Sanyal, Gupta and Gayen, 1993;
Srinivasulu and Das, 2008; Ganesh and Asokan, 2010)
(Fig. 1).
We observed the presence of O. taeniolatus at two
different sites in Andhra Pradesh. The first observation
was made at Ananthagiri (18°14’N, 83°00’E, altitude
1068 m) in the Eastern Ghats of the Vishakapatnam
District on 11 August 2009. The individual (Fig. 2) was
found under a rock in scrub adjacent to a forested track.
The second observation of a road killed individual was
made at Kandukuru (17°03’N, 78°29’E, altitude 630
m) in the Mahabubnagar District on 12 June 2011 at
20:30 hr. Both specimens were identified by means of
published morphological characteristics (Smith, 1943;
Whitaker and Captain, 2004).
The present records extend the range of O. taeniolatus
further towards the north (100 km from Appapur)
and northeast (213 km from Kunavaram) in Andhra
Pradesh. The westernmost locality in Andhra Pradesh
is 500 km south of Melghat and 496 km east of Pune in
Maharashtra and the northern most in Andhra Pradesh is
423
New records of Oligodon taeniolatus
247 km southwest of Ganjam in Orissa. The distribution
range of the Streaked Kukri Snake is based on very few
localities and the addition of further confirmed sites
contributes to a better understanding of the species
range.
Acknowledgements. We are grateful to Mr. Hitesh Malhotra
IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and
Chief Wildlife Warden, Andhra Pradesh Forest Department,
Hyderabad; Dr. R. Hampaiah, Chairman and Dr. S.N. Jadhav,
Member Secretary, Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board,
Hyderabad for encouraging biodiversity assessment studies. We
thank the Head, Department of Zoology, Osmania University
for encouragement and providing necessary facilities. We thank
Dr. Aaron M. Bauer for his valuable comments. MSR thanks S.
Vamshi of Osmania University for hospitality during the field
visits and acknowledges UGC Research Fellowship in Sciences
for Meritorious Students.
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Accepted by Angelica Crottini; Managing Editor: Zoltan T. Nagy