Oligodon cyclurus (Cantor, 1839)

🗒 Synonyms

synonym	Coronella cyclura Cantor, 1839
synonym	Coronella violacea Cantor, 1839
synonym	Holarchus cyclurus Smith, 1920
synonym	Holarchus purpurascens Cochran, 1930
synonym	Oligodon cyclurus David et al. 2011
synonym	Oligodon cyclurus Green et al. 2010
synonym	Oligodon cyclurus Smith 1943
synonym	Oligodon cyclurus Wallach et al. 2014
synonym	Oligodon dorsolateralis Chan-Ard et al. 1999
synonym	Oligodon dorsolateralis Das 1996
synonym	Oligodon dorsolateralis Pauwels et al. 2002
synonym	Oligodon dorsolateralis Taylor, 1965
synonym	Oligodon purpurascens Wall 1923 (non Schlegel)
synonym	Oligodon purpurascens Wall, 1923
synonym	Olygodon [sic] cyclurus Schulz 1988
synonym	Olygodon cyclurus Schulz, 1988
synonym	Rhynchocalamus violaceus
synonym	Simotes albocinctus dorsolateralis Wall 1909 (fide Wagner, pers. comm.)
synonym	Simotes albocinctus var. dorsolateralis Wall 1910
synonym	Simotes albocinctus Wall, 1909
synonym	Simotes bicatenatus Anderson 1871
synonym	Simotes bicatenatus Günther, 1864
synonym	Simotes bicatenatus Stoliczka 1873
synonym	Simotes brevicauda Steindachner, 1867
synonym	Simotes cochinchinensis Günther, 1864
synonym	Simotes cyclurus Boulenger, 1890
synonym	Simotes cyclurus Wall 1908
synonym	Simotes smithi Werner 1925 (fide Smith 1928)
synonym	Simotes smithi Werner, 1925

🗒 Common Names

English

Cantor's Kukri Snake

📚 Overview

Overview

Summary

Reptile group

snakes

Brief

Diagnostic

Diagnostic Keys

Head:

Supralabial 7 or 8; 4th & 5th in contact with eyes; infralabial 8; temporal 2+2. Maxillary teeth 9-10.

Dorsal:

Smooth scales in 19:19:15 rows.

Ventral:

160-173; anal undivided.

Sub Caudal:

30-48; paired. Hemipenis shape bifurcated; reaches to 15-18 caudal plates.

indiansnakes.org

Attributions	indiansnakes.org
Contributors	Vivek Sharma
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References	Boulenger G. A. (1890) The fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma, Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Taylor and Francis. Boulenger G. A. (1894) Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, London: Taylor and Francis. Wüster W., Cox M. J. (1992) Defensive Hemipenis display in the Kukri Snake Oligodon cyclurus. Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 26 (2), pp. 238-241 Günther A. (1864) The reptiles of British India. London: Published for the Ray Society by Robert Hardwicke Smith M. A. (1943) The fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma including the whole of The Indo-Chinese Sub-region, Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol 3 Serpentes. Taylor & Francis, London. Green M. D. (2010) Molecular Phylogeny of the Snake Genus Oligodon (Serpentes: Colubridae), with an annotated checklist and key. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Das I., Dattagupta B., Gayen N. C. (1998) History and catalogue of reptile types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India. J. South Asian nat. Hist. Vol. 3 (2), pp. 121-172 David P., Das I., Vogel G. (2011) On some taxonomic and nomenclatural problems in Indian species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae). Zootaxa 2799: 1–14 Purkayastha J. (2013) An Amateur’s Guide to Reptiles of Assam. EBH Publishers (India) Neang T., Grismer L. L., Daltry J. C. (2012) A new species of kukri snake (Colubridae: Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826) from the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, Cardamom Mountains, southwest Cambodia. Zootaxa 3388: 41–55

Description

SubSpecies Varieties Races

Diagnostic Keys

Description

No Data

📚 Nomenclature and Classification

Nomenclature and Classification

Taxon Record Name

References

Cantor, T. E. 1839. Spicilegium serpentium indicorum [part 1]. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1839: 31-34

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
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References

eng: Cantor's Kukri Snake

Curated from The Reptile Database

Attributions	Curated from The Reptile Database
Contributors	Harikrishnan S.
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Type Information

No Data

📚 Natural History

Preocular: 1; Postocular: 2; Supralabials: 8 (4th and 5th touches eye); Infralabials: 8; Anterior temporals: 1; Posterior temporals: 2-3; 19/21 dorsal scale row at midbody. Ventrals: 161-185; Subcaudals: 36-58 (paired). Dorsum various shades of brown or reddish with black reticulation or transverse dark bars. Head has inverted “V” mark. Venter whitish sometimes with black spots.

Jayaditya Purkayastha

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Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Look Alikes

Physiology

Ecology

Terrestrial snake, active at dawn and during night.feeds on small rodents, snakes etc.

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Miscellaneous Details

Venomosity (Snakes)

Harmless

No Data

📚 Habitat and Distribution

Habitat and Distribution

General Habitat

Habitat

Terrestrial

This species inhabits forest as well as agricultural areas.

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Forest floor

Dr. Chandra Barooah & Lani Sarma (2016) Assam Science Technology and Environment Council.

Attributions	Dr. Chandra Barooah & Lani Sarma (2016) Assam Science Technology and Environment Council.
Contributors	admin
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Distribution

Description

Global Distribution

India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Nepal, Bangladesh.

Indian Distribution

Assam

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

In India it is found from North Bengal to whole of North-east region.

indiansnakes.org

Attributions	indiansnakes.org
Contributors	Vivek Sharma
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Global Distribution

India, Bangladesh, Cochin China, Indochina, Myanmar (tenasserim), Thailand

Local Distribution

West Garo Hills, Meghalaya, West Bengal; Assam (Joypur RF)

Dr. Chandra Barooah & Lani Sarma (2016) Assam Science Technology and Environment Council.

Attributions	Dr. Chandra Barooah & Lani Sarma (2016) Assam Science Technology and Environment Council.
Contributors	admin
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Endemic Distribution

No Data

📚 Occurrence

Occurrence

No Data

📚 Demography and Conservation

Demography and Conservation

Population Biology

This species is reported to be common in India (Sharma 2003) and elsewhere (Cox 1991)

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Trends

Unknown

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Risk Statement

Schedule IV

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List Category

Least Concern

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

IUCN Redlist Status: Least Concern

Dr. Chandra Barooah & Lani Sarma (2016) Assam Science Technology and Environment Council.

Attributions	Dr. Chandra Barooah & Lani Sarma (2016) Assam Science Technology and Environment Council.
Contributors	admin
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Threats

Deforestation has occurred in areas of this species' range; however, this is not considered a major threat since this species can tolerate human-altered habitats.

Jayaditya Purkayastha

Attributions	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Contributors	Jayaditya Purkayastha
Status	UNDER_CREATION
Licenses	CC_BY
References

Legislation

Protection Legal Status

No Data

📚 Uses and Management

No Data

📚 Information Listing

Information Listing

Species Resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN)

Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)

References

Uetz, P., Freed, P. & Hošek, J. (eds.), The Reptile Database, http://www.reptile-database.org, accessed 11/12/2018

Overview > Diagnostic > Diagnostic Keys

Boulenger G. A. (1890) The fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma, Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Taylor and Francis.
Boulenger G. A. (1894) Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, London: Taylor and Francis.
Wüster W., Cox M. J. (1992) Defensive Hemipenis display in the Kukri Snake Oligodon cyclurus. Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 26 (2), pp. 238-241
Günther A. (1864) The reptiles of British India. London: Published for the Ray Society by Robert Hardwicke
Smith M. A. (1943) The fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma including the whole of The Indo-Chinese Sub-region, Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol 3 Serpentes. Taylor & Francis, London.
Green M. D. (2010) Molecular Phylogeny of the Snake Genus Oligodon (Serpentes: Colubridae), with an annotated checklist and key. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
Das I., Dattagupta B., Gayen N. C. (1998) History and catalogue of reptile types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India. J. South Asian nat. Hist. Vol. 3 (2), pp. 121-172
David P., Das I., Vogel G. (2011) On some taxonomic and nomenclatural problems in Indian species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae). Zootaxa 2799: 1–14
Purkayastha J. (2013) An Amateur’s Guide to Reptiles of Assam. EBH Publishers (India)
Neang T., Grismer L. L., Daltry J. C. (2012) A new species of kukri snake (Colubridae: Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826) from the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, Cardamom Mountains, southwest Cambodia. Zootaxa 3388: 41–55