Description ³

INTRODUCTION

• Non Venomous
• Commonly seen around houses lured be geckos.
• Get their name from long, sharp front teeth similar to those of a wolf.

IDENTIFICATION

• Small, slender snakes with smooth scales and white unmarked belly.
• Color is mostly greyish brown while some individuals are even black.
• Have somewhat thick bands usually white, some have bands with a yellowish tinge.
• Distinct flattened head broader than neck, dark eyes with pupil invisible.
• Often confused with Kraits as both have bands. Can easily be distinguished : Wolf snakes have broader & flatter heads, slightly thicker bands. Usually brown or grey, but a few can be black like kraits. Most importantly, Wolf snakes DO NOT have large hexagonal vertebral scales along it's back like kraits.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

• Common throughout India and the most widespread species in India.
• Inhabit variety of dense forests, open forests, rocky terrain and human habitations.
• Hide in dry & secure places like cracks, under large rocks, bark and crevices near houses.
• Remain hidden during day, climb trees and rocks in night in search of prey.

DIET AND BEHAVIOR

• Highly prefer geckos & skinks. Sometimes eat frogs & rodents.
• Nocturnal and great climbers foraging for geckos in the night.
• Alert & tries to escape on confrontation. Coils up body hiding it's head.
• Quite aggressive, they bite repeatedly on handling. Bites from big ones can be painful.

Other Wolf Snakes ³

Apart from the Indian Wolf Snake, 7 other species are found in Peninsular India. The snakes mentioned below are not as common but very similar to the Indian wolf snake in Diet, Habitat & Behavior. All have flattened head & jet-dark eyes. Major differences are color pattern, banding & distribution.

• Barred Wolf Snake (Lycodon striatus) :
  -> Found Throughout India. Second most commonly found species of wolf snake in India.
  -> Usually have jet-black dorsal with white bands, sometimes with yellowish tinge.
  -> Indistinguishable from black individuals of the Indian Wolf Snake without a proper scale count.
  -> More often confused with Kraits due to black coloration.

• Flowery Wolf Snake (Lycodon anamallensis) :
  -> Found across hilly forests of Southern India and even Sri Lanka. Also called the Slender Wolf Snake.
  -> Have yellowish white bands and don't have a collar behind neck like Lycodon aulicus and Lycodon striatus do.

• Travancore Wolf Snake (Lycodon travancoricus) :
  -> Found in the Western Ghats.
  -> Most specimens have bright yellow bands, very rarely yellowish-white and obscure collar.

• Vellore Bridal Snake (Lycodon nympha) :
  -> Found from Kerala to hilly Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha too.
  -> Greyish-brown dorsal with bright yellowish bands which are usually much thicker than those of other wolf snakes.

• Scarce Bridal Snake (Lycodon gracilis) :
  -> Found from Kerala to hilly Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, very rarely seen.
  -> Have yellowish and much thicker bands than other wolf snakes. Looks very similar to the Vellore bridal snake.

• Yellow Spotted Wolf Snake (Lycodon flavomacuatus) :
  -> Found in the Western Ghats.
  -> Have dark and almost jet-black dorsal coloration and bright yellow spotted bands across.

• Yellow Collared Wolf Snake (Lycodon flavicollis) :
  -> Found in the Western Ghats.
  -> Have a distinctive, bright, thick yellow collar behind neck.
  -> Bands across body a very dull and absent in some individuals. Dorsal coloration is usually greyish brown.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Mayuresh Kulkarni, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mayuresh Kulkarni
2. (c) Vinay Gogula, all rights reserved, uploaded by Vinay Gogula
3. (c) Vinay Gogula, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• Snake Database
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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