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Family : COLUBRIDAE
Species : Ptyas korros
Maximum Size : 2.6 metres
The Indochinese Rat Snake
is a fast-moving snake which has adapted to grasslands,
agricultural landscapes and oil palm plantations. It preys on rats, frogs and other
small vertebrates.
It is diurnal in habits, and mainly a ground-dweller. Most
encounters with this snake occur as they attempt to cross rural roads; the
species is often found as roadkill in rural parts of Peninsular Malaysia.
This snake can be identified by
its overall brown or orange-brown colour, its olive-brown tail with dark-edged scales, and the faint pale brown
banding which occurs on the thickest part of the body (although this feature
does not occur in mature adults). The belly is yellowish. Its head is long,
and it eyes relatively large.
This wide-ranging
species occurs in parts of India, Nepal and China, through Bangladesh,
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos down
to Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and the sundaic islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Java
and Bali.
Figs 1 and 2 : A pair from Bandung, Java, Indonesia; either a
mating pair or 2 males in a 'combat dance'.
Photos thanks to Dave Welch.
Fig 3 : Example from rural Johor, Peninsular Malaysia.
Fig 4 : Example from Kaeng Krachan, Phetchaburi province, Thailand.
Photo thanks to Charles Currin.
Figs 5 and 6 : Rare photos of an example from the northwest corner of
Singapore Island, where grasslands and modern farms dominate the
landscape. Photos thanks to Lim Kim Seng.
References :
Cox, van Dijk, Nabhitabhata, Thirakhupt, 1998. A photographic Guide to
Snakes and Other Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand. New Holland.
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