About Amphiesma stolatum (Linnaeus, 1758)
Amphiesma stolatum, commonly known as the buff striped keelback, is a small, slender snake. It is typically olive-brown to gray overall, with matching head and body coloration. Its body is short, and it has a long slender tail that makes up almost a quarter of its total length. Its most distinctive feature is two yellow stripes running lengthwise along the sides of its spine; these stripes are less distinct at the head and become especially bright on the second half of the body. The snake also has irregular blackish crossbars across its body, which are prominent near the head and become diffuse on the second half of the body. The sides of the head are yellow, and the head tapers to form a distinct neck. During the breeding season, the nape turns red. The chin and throat are white, and sometimes yellow; the lips, and the areas in front of and behind the eyes, are yellowish. Its forked tongue is black. Its eyes have large round pupils, with golden flecks on the iris. The underside is pale cream, with small black spots scattered along both margins. It has keeled scales on its dorsal body surface.
Specific identifying scalation traits for the species are as follows: the nasal shield does not touch the second upper lip shield (supralabial); the rostral shield touches a total of 6 shields: two inter-nasals, two nasals, and the first supralabial on each side; there are 8 supralabials, with the 3rd to 5th touching the eye; a single temporal shield is present; costals are arranged in nineteen rows, and are strongly keeled except for the perfectly smooth outer row; distinctive stripes are present; ventrals number 118–161 and are usually divided; the anal shield is divided; subcaudals number 46-89 and are paired.
The buff striped keelback is distributed across South and Southeast Asia. Its range stretches from Sindh, Pakistan to Sri Lanka, India (including the Andaman Islands), Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Borneo (Sabah, Indonesia), Taiwan, and China (Hainan, Hong Kong, Fujian, Jiangxi). It is also found in Bhutan. In India, this snake occurs up to an altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).
This terrestrial, diurnal snake lives in well-watered lowland plains and hills. The primary diet of adult Amphiesma stolatum consists of small amphibians such as frogs and toads, but they also eat earthworms, small lizards, and rodents.
