Oligodon melaneus

Bluebelly kukri snake
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Oligodon
Species:	O. melaneus
Binomial name
Oligodon melaneus Wall, 1909 [2]

Oligodon melaneus, the: bluebelly kukri snake is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is endemic to eastern India. ^[3] It was described in 1909 by Frank Wall based on two specimens from Tindharia, Darjeeling. ^{[2] [3]}

Description

One the types is a female, 30 cm (13.125 in) in total length, with the tail being 4 cm (1.75 in). It was gravid with four eggs. The other type is a male, similar in length to the female. The body is uniformly black above, grading to grayish in the flanks. The belly is blue-grey, with black speckling in the female. ^[2]

References

1. Das, A. (2021). "Oligodon melaneus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T202846A2757299. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T202846A2757299.en . Retrieved 13 June 2023.
2. Wall, F. (1909). "Notes on snakes from the neighbourhood of Darjeeling". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 19: 337–357.
3. Oligodon melaneus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 23 May 2017.