v10i2.261

Submitted date: 8 June 2021
Accepted date: 26 October 2021
Published date: 22 November 2021
Pp. 126

An unusual body colouration of Ceylon roughside snake (Aspidura ceylonensis)

D. Kandambi, N. Abeyrathna, D.S. De Silva & S. Karunarathna*
*E-mail: suranjan.karu@gmail.com

The small sized, non-venomous, and fossorial colubrid snake genus Aspidura Wagler, 1830 is endemic to Sri Lanka. Aspidura ceylonensis (Günther, 1858) is rare and restricted to mid-elevation to montane and sub-montane forests at elevation of 500–1300 m a.s.l. in the Central Highlands and the Knuckles massif. It is found in cool and well-shaded forest areas, with thick moist leaflitter, woody debris, and loose soil. The usual adult body coloration on dorsum is dark reddish or dark orange, rarely yellowish, with a continuous black vertebral line and two rows of dorsolateral black spots along the body.

Section Editor: Thasun Amarasinghe