| Banded wolf snake | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wild specimen from Maharashtra, India | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Lycodon |
| Species: | L. fasciolatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lycodon fasciolatus (Shaw, 1802) | |
| Synonyms | |
The banded wolf snake, (Lycodon fasciolatus) is a species of colubrid snake. Sometimes called the banded racer, that name is used for snakes in the genus Platyceps.
It is found in India except for North Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kashmir, [3] Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Snout obtuse, curved and prominent; rostral large, broader than wide, the portion visible from above more than half its length from the frontal; suture between the internasals as long as that between the prefrontals or a little shorter; frontal nearly as long as its distance from the end of the snout, or as the parietals; loreal as long as deep or longer than deep; one pre-ocular, usually with a small subocular below; two or three postoculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3; upper labials 8, fourth and fifth entering the eye; 4 or 5 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields; posterior chin-shields nearly as long as the anterior, separated from each other by two or three series of scales. Dorsals smooth, in 21 or 23 rows. Ventrals 197–225; anal divided; subcaudals 73–88. Yellowish or brownish olive above, with narrow white, brown, and black variegated cross bands on the anterior half of the body; these bands may entirely disappear in the adult; lower parts uniform yellowish. [4]
Total length 1060 mm (3.5 feet); tail 220 mm (8.5 inches).
Shaw's original description of the species was based on a plate in Russell, Ind. Serp. (1796).
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