Elaphe helena - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Trinket Snake, Coelognathus helenus, is a non-venomous constrictor

Constriction

Constriction is a method used by various snake species to kill their prey. Although some species of venomous and mildly-venomous snakes do use constriction to subdue their prey, most snakes which use constriction lack venom. The snake initially strikes at its prey and holds on, pulling the prey...

species of colubrid snake native to south Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

Distribution

Sri Lanka, Southern India, Pakistan (Sind), Nepal, Bangladesh
Type locality: India: Vishakhapatnam (Daudin, 1803).

Description

See snake scales

Snake scales

Snakes, like other reptiles, have a skin covered in scales. Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes. Scales protect the body of the snake, aid it in locomotion, allow moisture to be retained within, alter the surface characteristics such as roughness to aid in...

for terms used

Rostral a little broader than deep, visible from above; suture between the internasals much shorter than that between the prefrontals; frontal as long as its distance from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals; loreal somewhat longer than deep; one large preocular; two postoculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3: 9 (exceptionally 10 or 11) upper labials, fifth and sixth, or fourth, firth, and sixth entering the eye; 5 or 6 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are as long as or a little longer than the posterior. Scales in 23 to 27 rows, smooth, or feebly keeled on the posterior part of the body and on the tail. Ventrals 220-265; anal entire; subcaudals 75-94. Young pale brown above, with black cross bands, each enclosing four to six white ocelli; adult darker brown, with transverse series of squarish black spots, or with more or less distinct traces of the livery of the young; a vertical black streak below the eye, and an oblique one behind the eye; some specimens have a white, black-edged collar, others two black longitudinal streaks on the head; others, again, are intermediate in this respect. Lower parts yellowish, with or without a few small black spots, sometimes with a more or less distinct festooned marking on each side.
Total length 4.5 feet; tail 10 inches.

Elaphe helena monticollaris

Elaphe helena monticollaris

Elaphe helenus monticollaris is a non-venomous constrictor species of colubrid snake native to south Central Asia.-Characteristics:A narrow headed slender snake with a beautiful colouration. Its light brown body is often adorned with white and dark brown spots or with black and white transverse...

is a subspecies.

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