Common Vine Snake .हरणटोल ( Ahaetulla nasuta )

Regional Names: 

English: 

Green Vine Snake

Hindi : hara sap, hara nag, 

Marathi: 

Harantol, hirtoli , Nanhati 

Distribution: 

Maharashtra , Goa , Karnatka , Keral ,

Venom Type: 

NA

Family: 

Colubridae

Characteristics for identification: 

Can be identified by checking following characters: 1) Very thin & long body & tail. 2) Green dorsal. 3) Leaf or arrow like head with very pointed snout. 4) It can be identified easily by checking very thin & long body & tail, green dorsal, leaf or arrow like head with very pointed snout. Horizontal pupil in eyes. 

Description: 

Dorsal body:

Thin, long and slender body. Scales smooth, long and obliquely arranged. Dorsal color parrot green or bluish-green; brown in variety isabellinus. Regular black interscale patterns present in oblique manner from neck to much of mid body.

Ventral body -
Belly entirely yellow-green without any pattern. Sometimes a white or yellow line separates dorsal and ventral surfaces. Subcaudal scales paired in a zigzag manner.

Head -
Head long, clearly broader than neck with extremely pointed snout. Upper lip color white or yellow. Oval shape eyes have horizontal pupils.

Tail -
Very long, thin and slender tail ends with pointed tip.

Habitat: 

Choose dense bushes and plantation to stay at a place without showing any movement. Hides in dense green vegetation of low height. Found both in hills and plains. Lives in variety of forests including mixed, dry and moist deciduous forests. Not found in deserts.

Natural History: 

Green Vine Snake is a diurnal and arboreal species which shows activity throughout the day at low to moderate heights. Rarely seen on ground. Locomotion fast in arboreal environment while slow on land. Behaviour shy and usually non-offensive. On threatening it throws half of fore body into loops or curvs, laterally inflates it and open its mouth as wide as possible to look fascinating and bigger. Can bite in chew manner. Also it has been observed that it sometimes try to target eyes or face of the person causing provocation. Due to its thin body and green color it can easily vanish in green bushes. It is assumed to be capable in mating for most of the year. Female directly gives birth to 23 (maximum) young in dense bushes from monsoon to most of winters.

Diet: 

Feeds on variety of prey including lizards, birds, frogs, other snakes including venomous ones, rodents etc.

Pho: Rushikesh Lohar

Info: Sagar Khunte & Akash Deshmukh

                     Indian cobra  नाग (Naja naja )

: 

Regional Names: 

Hindi: 

Naag(नाग ), Kaala saap(काला साँप), Kaalo(कालो)

English: 

Indian Cobra, Common Cobra, Common Indian Cobra

Marathi: 

Nag

Distribution: 

Distributed throughout the country upto Assam. Not found in Indian Islands and Himalayan hills. Recorded from following states: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, West Bengal. Also found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Venom Type: 

Neurotoxic

Family: 

Elapidae

Characteristics for identification: 

Can be easily identified by having hood and adjoined rounded mark on posterior of hood. Color of Spectacled Cobra greatly depends on geographical areas. In and around human habitation and agricultural lands it can seen commonly as a rodent predator. Always raise hood on disturbance or to alarm its enemy. Typical spact-shaped mark is usually present which is characteristic of this species. 

Description: 

New born- 25-30cm.
Average length- 150cm.
Maximum length- 210cm.

Dorsal -
Body slender with smooth oval shaped scales. Dorsal color includes yellow, all shades of brown, dark gray, reddish, black or black mixed with blue, purple, red etc. Side dorsal scales larger and clearly oval shaped while scales on the top narrower and become pointed. Color greatly depends on geographical region. Maharashtra, whole South India, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal etc. coastal states populations bear color range of yellow and brown (light). Sometimes dark color obtuse bands also found on posterior side. Central, northern & western India population is known for dark brown or black color.

Ventral -

Belly color depends on dorsal color and ranges from milky white, yellowish, white mixed with purple, red, brown, gray etc with or without dark patches.

Head -

Head triangular with rounded edge, not broader than neck. The famous hood mark appears when stretched on provocation. Hood marks varies in design and prominence aspects. In dark colored specimens (from North India) hood mark becomes faint or absent in adults. Eyes have rounded pupil.

Tail -
Slightly shorter than typical range and ends with pointed tip. Black color specimens sometimes bear darker tail.

Habitat: 

Found both in hills and plains. Distributed in variety of forests of Indian mainland which includes rainforest, mixed, moist and dry deciduous forests, grassland, wetland, desert etc. Lives in dense & open forests, agricultural lands, city outskirts, around wetlands, rocky terrain having mounds and deep hiding places, old woods etc. Hides in mounds, holes, piles, caves, cracks etc.

Natural History: 

Spectacled Cobra is basically a nocturnal species but crepuscular behavior is mostly shown by it. Can be seen at daytime also. Activity terrestrial but can climb well when needed for foraging and roosting. Behavior alert and aggressive. On provocation raise its forebody to show famous hood and hiss loudly to give warnings. Gives mock attacks initially but can bite in furry to deliver its neurotoxin venom. To escape it tries to crawl slowly which is done by keeping eyes on enemy by curling and bowing the hood. Mating begins during post winter season with male combat. Winning male performs mating rituals with female. Egg lying and guarding done by female in mounds and caves. Up to 30 eggs it can lay and hatching done from late summer to most of monsoon.

Diet: 

It preys on variety of animals including frogs, toads and mostly rodents. Also feed on birds, other snakes including venomous ones, small mammals (mongoose and kittens), eggs etc. Can climb up to good heights on roof tops and trees in search of food.

Bite symptoms: 

The area around the bite starts swelling up within half an hour. The limbs become weak. The eyelids droop and cannot be kept open. Saliva starts dribbling from the mouth. This is accompanied by sweating and vomiting. If untreated, the victim dies of respiratory muscle paralysis.

Pho : Rushikesh Lohar

Info: Sagar Khunte And Akash Deshmukh

                    Russell's Viper  घोनस ( Daboia russelii )

Regional Names: 

English: Russells

 Viper.

Hindi: 

Parran, Kaudia, Chitti.

Marathi: 

Ghonas, Pharud.

Distribution: 

 Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Distrubuted in all western ghats. Madhya pradesh, Gujrat, Odisa, Rajasthan. Also found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Venom Type: 

Haemotoxic

Family: 

Viperidae

Characteristics for identification: 

This species can be identified easily by robust and stout body covered with keeled scales. In three rows eye or almond like spots found in whole dorsal body. This character helps people to differentiate between Russell's Viper and non-venomous Indian Rock Python which is found in the same range. It can be easily identified by checking oval shaped hollow or solid spots in three rows in dorsal body and highly keeled non-shiny scales. 

Description: 

New born- 24cm.
Average length- 100cm (3.3ft).
Maximum length- 180cm (6ft).

Dorsal -

Body stout, robust and covered with highly keeled pointed and dry looking scales. Dorsal light or dark grayish-brown, reddish, orange or entirely gray occasionally. Color and patterns become faint in adults or sometimes adults fund to be completely patternless. Continuous or discontinuous eye or almond like hollow or solid spots of dark brown or blackish color present in three longitudinal rows along the body; starts from head and generally become faint or absent on tail side. Side spots smaller and more rounded than spots present on the top and generally discontinuous.

Ventral -
Belly white or light yellow with deep dark brown or blackish semi lunar spots on the edge of most of ventral scales. Underside of tail usually darker (brown or deep yellow) than ventral scales with paired subcaudals.

Head -
Head triangular, pointed with small keeled scales; clearly broader than neck. Two triangular shaped spots of rounded edge present on the top. Upper lip pinkish white mostly. Supra nasal crescentic with large nostril. Moderate eyes have vertically elliptical pupil. Two very long fangs present in front side of mouth from birth.

Tail -
Rather small tail with pointed tip and covered with typical keeled scales; usually without patterns.

Habitat: 

Found both in plains and moderate elevation up to approximately 4800ft; more common in plains. Distributed in variety of forests including rainforest, mixed, dry, moist deciduous forest, scrub lands, grassland, wetland etc. Habitat includes dry open lands, agricultural fields, open country, scrubs having low bushes, rocky terrain having mounds & vegetation etc. Hides in mounds, holes, piles, caves, cracks, dense leaf litters, dense vegetation etc

Diet: 

Feeds chiefly on rodents and small mammals; also feeds on birds, lizards, frogs.

Photographs and Info:
Pho:Rushikesh lohar,
Info: Sagar khunte and Akash deshmukh.

Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_viper