Trinket snake

Coelognathus helena

The trinket snake is a nonvenomous constrictor species of colubrid snake native to south Central Asia, in Sri Lanka, southern India, Pakistan , Nepal, and Bangladesh. Its type locality is India: Vishakhapatnam .
A coiled, cooperative Trinket Snake This attractive snake crossed the dirt road in front of us as we were driving to a nearby camp for dinner. My guide jumped out of the jeep and ran up to the snake, paused for a moment to ensure that it wasn't a cobra, then grabbed it. We kept it for a photo session the next morning, where it cooperatively assumed a variety of photogenic positions, before releasing it back at the spot where found. Coelognathus helena,Geotagged,Sri Lanka,Summer,Trinket snake

Appearance

:''See snake scales'' for terms used''
Rostral a little broader than deep, visible from above; suture between the internasals much shorter than that between the prefrontals; frontal as long as its distance from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals; loreal somewhat longer than deep; one large preocular; two postoculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3: 9 upper labials, fifth and sixth, or fourth, firth, and sixth entering the eye; 5 or 6 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are as long as or a little longer than the posterior. Scales in 23 to 27 rows, smooth, or feebly keeled on the posterior part of the body and on the tail. Ventrals 220-265; anal entire; subcaudals 75-94. Young pale brown above, with black cross bands, each enclosing four to six white ocelli; adult darker brown, with transverse series of squarish black spots, or with more or less distinct traces of the livery of the young; a vertical black streak below the eye, and an oblique one behind the eye; some specimens have a white, black-edged collar, others two black longitudinal streaks on the head; others, again, are intermediate in this respect. Lower parts yellowish, with or without a few small black spots, sometimes with a more or less distinct festooned marking on each side. -->Total length 4.5 feet; tail 10 inches.

''Coelognathus helena monticollaris'' is a subspecies.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyColubridae
GenusCoelognathus
SpeciesC. helenus
Photographed in
India
Sri Lanka