Hebius venningi

Hebius venningi
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Hebius
Species:	H. venningi
Binomial name
	Hebius venningi; (Wall, 1910)
Synonyms
	Tropidonotus venningi; Wall, 1910; Natrix venningi; — M.A. Smith, 1943; Amphiesma venningi; — Malnate, 1960; Paranatrix venningi; — Mahendra, 1984; Hebius venningi; — Guo et al., 2014;

Last updated October 03, 2025

Hebius venningi, commonly known as the Chin Hills keelback or Venning's keelback, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Asia.

Etymology

The specific name, venningi, is in honor of British ornithologist Francis Esmond Wingate Venning (1882–1970).^[3]

Geographic range

H. venningi is found in southwestern China (Yunnan and Guangxi), northeastern India (Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh), and northern Myanmar.^[1]^[2] It is also reported from Bangladesh.^[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of H. venningi are forest and freshwater wetlands, at altitudes of 900–1,786 m (2,953–5,860 ft)^[1]

Description

H. venningi is grayish brown dorsally, and yellowish or pinkish ventrally. It may attain a total length (including tail) of 68 cm (27 in).^[5]

Diet

H. venningi preys upon tadpoles.^[6]^[5]

Reproduction

H. venningi is oviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 3 Lau, M. (2020). "Hebius venningi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T192156A176406417. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T192156A176406417.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
1 2 3 Hebius venningi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 18 August 2020.
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Amphiesma venningi, p. 274).
↑ Ahm Reza (November 2010). "First record of Amphiesma venningi (wall, 1910) (Serpentes, Colubridae, Natricinae) from Bangladesh, with notes on its taxonomy, natural history, biogeography and other sympatric species". Hamadryad. 35 (1): 64–72 – via ResearchGate.
1 2 I. Das, 2002.
↑ M.A. Smith, 1943.

Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Amphiesma venningi, p. 19).
Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Natrix venningi, pp. 286–287).
Wall F (1910). "A new Tropidonotus from the Chin Hills". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society20: 345–346. (Tropidonotus venningi, new species).

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[iucn_status_20_November_2021-1] 1 2 3 Lau, M. (2020). "Hebius venningi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T192156A176406417. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T192156A176406417.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 3 Hebius venningi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 18 August 2020.

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Amphiesma venningi, p. 274).

[4] Ahm Reza (November 2010). "First record of Amphiesma venningi (wall, 1910) (Serpentes, Colubridae, Natricinae) from Bangladesh, with notes on its taxonomy, natural history, biogeography and other sympatric species". Hamadryad. 35 (1): 64–72 – via ResearchGate.

[Das2002-5] 1 2 I. Das, 2002.

[6] M.A. Smith, 1943.

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