Description ²

INTRODUCTION

• Non Venomous
• Very rarely seen due to restricted range, size & their fossorial lives.
• Only 4 species of Xylophis are known so far. All being endemic to the Western Ghats.
• Xylophis are the only snakes of the family Pareidae found outside SE Asia.

IDENTIFICATION

• Small snakes with smooth, glossy scales.
• Have small eyes and usually has a distinct long scale between eyes & nasal.
• Often confused with Shieldtail snakes due to similar size, appearance & habitat.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

• Found only in the hill forests of Western Ghats.
• Each species is known to be found in a few hill ranges only.
• Spend most of life underground & under wooden logs with moisture.

DIET AND BEHAVIOR

• Feed on Earthworms, insect larvae and caecilians.
• Very little studied about these snakes.

SPECIES OF XYLOPHIS

• Captain's Wood Snake (Xylophis captaini)
• Perrotet's Mountain Snake (Xylophis perroteti)
• Gunther's Mountain Snake (Xylophis stenorynchus)
• Anamalai Wood Snake (Xylophis mosaicus)

Sources and Credits

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

More Info

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

iNat Map