Distributed range & status
It’s an endemic species to Sri Lanka. It was first found in Trincomalee coastal area in 1944 by Taylor.
Scales
rostral |
|
frontal |
|
supraoculars |
|
parietals |
|
prefrontals |
|
nasals |
Long & divided scale. Posterior enlarged |
internasals |
|
loreals |
absent |
preoculars |
1 enlarged & connects with the frontal |
postoculars |
2 |
temporals |
(1+2+3) |
Supralabials |
9 (5 & 6 connects with the eye) |
mental |
|
infralabials |
10 |
sublinguals |
|
coastals |
|
ventrals |
173 Lateral ridge consist of a notch. |
anal |
Divided scale |
subcaudals |
134 divided |
Mid body is consisting of 15 rows of scales. vertebrals are clear & enlarged.
Characteristics
Cylindrical, narrow, slender body is present with a dorso-ventrally flattened pear shaped head. The neck region is clear. Long & compressed snout is present. The tip of it is broad & rounded. The nostrils are present laterally & there rounded. Round pupil is present in large eyes. Prehensile tail is 1/3 of the body of the snake.
Colour
The dorsal body is bronze-grey. No specific marks on the head are seen. Lateral sides of the head have 2 light colour strips run towards the tail. The top stripe starts from the tip of the snout & run through the eye. This is broader towards the neck region. Ventral body is creamy white & the tail is bronze-grey.
Venom
These snakes are non poisonous.
Dentition
Data not found.
Behavior
They are diurnal & arboreal. These are very active snakes & do not get panicked easily. When exited they & expose the skin underneath scales. Ventral keels help them to climb trees.
Breeding
These are oviparous snakes. They lay eggs in tree hollows. 5 long eggs are laid by them at a time.
Growth
Found specimen has a length of 756mm.
Food
Diet consists of lizards, geckos & tree frogs.
Identification
Dendrelaphis oliveri differ in lacking loreals from other Dendrelaphis spp.
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