Copper- headed Trinket

Coelognathus radiatus

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Identification

Back portion grayish-brown, fawn or yellowish-brown with four black stripes on forebody or mid body. Stripes on the upper body are broad and outer pair usually broken into elongated spots. Head is copper brown in color with black line across nape and three black streaks from below and behind eye. The uppermost streak joins black line on nape. Underside uniform is yellow or gray.

Length:5ft to maximum 7.58ft

Scalation

Scales in 21 or 19:19:17 rows. Ventrals 207-250 with strong lateral keel; anal entire; subcaudals 80-108, paired. Supralabials 9 rarely 8 (4^th to 6^th or 3^rd to 5^th touching eye); preocular 1; postoculars 2; temporals usually 2+2.

Habitat and Reproduction

They are found in open areas close to forest. Eats small mammals, lizards, birds and occasionally frogs. The species is oviparous and lays eggs in a clutch of 5-15.

Bite and venom

This is a non-venomous species, so bites are not harmful to human. If cornered they form a series of S shaped curves and lifts off the ground and inflate the forebody vertically in defense. Also may open mouth, produce hissing to alert and strike.

Distribution

Copper headed trinket snake has distribution records from Uttaranchal to Arunachal Pradesh along the Himalayas to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Sikkim. Also have records from Bangladesh, Nepal and throughout most of Southeast Asia. Records are mostly up to 1480m above sea level. In Chhattisgarh previous records were from Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve,Gariyaband district but recently its presence was recorded in Jashpur and other neighboring districts.

Threats:

Road accidents and human killing made this species vulnerable.

Important Tags

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Copper- headed Trinket Colubridae Coelognathus radiatus