As you know Snakes are divided into two types poisonous and non poisonous. By family snakes, fishes, lizards, crododiles, dinosars and birds belong to same group.
Of the over 2000 species of snakes in the world, about 200 are found in India. These range from the worm snakes having a length of about 10 cms. to those more than 6 mts. long. They live in almost all habitats from the warm seas to semi-deserts, swamps, lakes and even in the Himalayan glaciers up to an elevation of about 5000 mts. Thirty main species of Indian snakes have been discribed here.
Common Worm Snake
( Typhlina bramina): A small worm-like snake found all over India. In the hills, it lives up to an elevation of 1000 mts.
Perrotet's Shield-tail Snake
(Plectrurus perroteti): A small snake found in the hills along the west coast of India, i.e., The Western Ghats, Nilgiri and Annamalai hills.
Indian Rock Python
(Python molurus): A large thick-bodied snake found in many parts of India. It ranges from the mangrove forest to arid scrublands and dense rain forest of the eastern Himalayas up to an elevation of about 2000 mts.
Common Sand Boa
(Eryx conicus): A short thick-bodied snake found in the plains and low hills of India. They are nocturnal and hunt after dark.
Red Sand Boa
(Eryx johnii): A medium-sized snake with a very blunt tail. It is found in the drier tracts of the country.
Common Wolf Snake
(Lycodon aulicus): A small slender snake found throughout India. In the hills, it occurs at an elevation of about 2000 mts.
Banded Kukri
(Oligodon arnesis): A small snake with prominent cross bands on its body. Found all over India and up to an elevation of 200 mts. in the eastern Himalayan.
Stripped Keelback
(Amaphiesma stalata): A small to medium-sized snake that is closely related to and resembles the water snake. Found all over India and up to an elevation of 2000 mts. in the hill.
Green Keelback
(Macropisthodon plumbicolor): A medium-sized keelscaled snake found in the forested region of India up to an elevation of 1500 mts.
Checkered Keelback Watersnake
(Xenochropis piscator): A medium-sized keeled snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 3000 mts.
Olive Keelback Watersnake
(Altritium schistosum): A small to medium-sized snake found in central and peninsular India up to an elevation about 1000 mts.
Trinket Snake
(Elaphe halena): A medium-sized, slender snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 4000 mts. in the Himalayas.
Rat Snake
(Ptyas muscosus): A large-scaled snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 4000 mts. It is capable of adapting to almost any environment. They are prodigal rat-eaters.
Banded Racer
(Argyrogena fasicolatus): A small to medium-sized snake found in the plains of India. It prefers to live amongst tall grass and bushes.
Royal Snake
(Spalerosophis diadema): A medium to large-sized snake found in the drier tracts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu hills and Himachal Pradesh up to an elevation of 2000 mts.
Bronze-back Tree Snake
(Dendrelaphis tristis): A medium-sized slender snake found all over India up to an elevation of 2000 mts. in the Himalayas. They prefer low bushes and thorny trees.
Flying Snake
(Chrysopelea ornata): A small to medium-sized snake found in the forest of southwest India and northeastern parts of the country north of Bihar and Orissa. They prefer to live on large trees and appear to glide for some distance.
Vine Snake
(Ahaetulla nasutus): A medium to large-sized snake found all over India, except in the northwest and parts of the Ganga plain. They may occur at elevation of about 2500 mts. preferring low bushes and trees.
Common Cat Snake
(Boiga trigonata): A small to medium-sized snake found all over India up to an elevation of 3000 mts. in the Himalayas. They are nocturnal in habit and prefer to spend the daylight hours in a cool place.
Dog-faced Watersnake
(Cerberus rhynchops): A medium-sized snake found in the coastal tracts. They live in muddy and rocky areas in estuaries, mangrove swamps, salt pans and deserted creeks.
Common Krait
(Bungarus caeruleus): A medium-sized snake with thin white bands on its body. Found almost all over India up to elevation of about 1700 mts. They are nocturnal in habit.
Banded Krait
(Bungarus caeruleus): A medium to large-sized snake with prominent yellow and black bands on its body. Found in northeast India, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh up to an elevation of 1500 mts.
Sleder Coral Snake
(Callophis melanurus): A small slender snake found in most parts of the country except parts of central and northeast India, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradseh up to an Elevation of 1500 mts.
Indian Spectacled Cobra
(Naja naja naja): A medium to large-sized snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 4000 mts. in the Himalayas. They feed on frogs, toads, rodents, birds and small snakes.
Indian Monocled Cobra
(Naja naja kaouthia): A medium-sized snake found in northeast India, parts of Uttar Pradesh , Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. They are mainly nocturnal in habit.
King Cobra
(Ophiophagus hannah): A large-sized snake that may be up to 5 mts. in length . It has distinct cross bands on its forebody. Found in dense forests of South India, Himalayan foothills up to an elevation of 2000 mts., Orissa , Bihar, West Bengal and North east India.
Hook-nosed Sea Snake
(Enhydrina schistosa): A medium-sized snake with a flattened body and tail. Found along the coast and coastal islands. They are seasonally found in the deep sea though they prefer coastal areas.
Russell's Viper
(Vipera russellii) : A medium to large-sized snake with a characteristic bright pattern on its body. Found all over India, both in the plains and hills up to an elevation of about 3000 mts.
Saw-scaled Viper
(Echis carinatus): A small-sized snake found all over India, usually in the plains. They may occur in areas as high as 2000 mts. in the northwestern Himalayas.
Bamboo Pit Viper
(Trmeresurus gramineus): A small-sized snake with a triangular head. Found in the hills of central and eastern India. It prefers cold, thick vegetation along watercourses and bamboos and other dense foliage.
Some Other Common Snakes Of India
1. Slender Worm Snake (Typhilina porrectus) 2. Pied-belly Shield-tail Snake (Melanophidium punctatum) 3. Nilgiri Shield-tail Snake(Uropeltis ocellatus) 4.Regal Python (Python reticulatus) 5. Khasi Earth Snake (Stoliczkaia khasiensis) 6. Olive Forest Snake (Rhabdops olivaceus) 7. Glossy Marsh Snake (Gerarda prevostiana).
POISONOUS SNAKES OF INDIA:
Indian (Spectacled) Cobra - Naja naja naja
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized to large; smooth, shiny scales; wide head and neck; wide black band on underside of neck; distinctive hood marking on top of neck.
Description: The Spectacled Cobra is a smooth-scaled snake with black eyes, wide neck and head and medium body. Colouring varies form black or dark brown to yellowish white. The underside is usually white or yellowish with a wide dark neck band. The body is generally covered with a speckled white or yellow pattern, sometimes forming ragged bands. The famous hood marking of the classic design, shows a connected pair of rings. Occasionally, it may not even resemble spectacles, or may be altogether absent. The cobras of northwest India are blackish and have a barely distinguishable hood marking. Cobras are often confused with the Indian rat snakes, which have a much thinner neck and head, and become 3 metres long, a metre more than do the biggest Indian cobras.
The Spectacled Cobra is the most widely distributed of the generally accepted 3 sub -species of cobras in Indian and is one of the big four dangerous snakes, 6 species of cobras occur in Asia and 9 in Africa. The jet black cobras occur in Asia and 9 in Africa. The jet black cobra of northwest India and Pakistan is another sub-species or geographic race. Except for its colour and absence of hood marking, it is very similar to the spectacled Cobra.
Distribution: Throughout India, sea level upto 4000 m (in the Himalayas)
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King Cobra - Ophiophagus Hannah
Distinctive Features: Large; smooth, shiny scales; distinct light cross bands mainly on the forebody; large head scales edges with black.
Description: The large head of the giant King Cobra is little wider than the neck. The head scales are edged with black and the overall colour varies from yellowish to deep olive-green but the tail if often jet-black. The underside is a lighter shade of the body colour. The yellow bands on the snake's back are more obvious in the light coloured specimens from Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. King Cobras are the largest venomous snakes in the world.
Distribution: Rare in India, King Cobras are confined mostly to the dense forests of the Western Ghats and the northern hill forests. Nilgiris, Plains and Western Ghats upto Goa, the Himalayan foot hills (upto 2000 m) starting near Lahore in Pakistan through North Indian to Assam. Forests of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and the Andamans.
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Banded Krait - Bungarus fasciatus
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized to large; smooth, shiny scales: wide bright yellow and black bands on back.
Description: The Banded Krait is a large, conspicuous yellow and black banded snake with a prominent backbone, blunt tail and rounded head slightly distinct from the body. The bands are faded on the underside.
Distribution: Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and reported in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Found upto 1500 m above sea level.
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Slender Coral Snake - Callophis melanurus
Distinctive Features: small, slender; smooth, shiny scales: blunt, black head; tail black, scarlet and blue.
Description: The Slender Coral Snake is light brown and family speckled. The head and neck are black with two conspicuous yellow spots on the top of the head. There is a ragged black ring at the tail-base and at the tail-up. The underside is uniform pinkish-red (coral), bright scarlet at vent, and the underside of the tail is bluish. The head is blunt and has the same width as the neck; the scales are smooth and slightly glossy. Slender Coral Snakes are one of the 5 Indian coral snakes. The other 4 are hill forest species of the Western Ghats and eastern Himalayas.
Distribution: Reported from the most parts of India on the plains, except central and northwestern India. MacClelland's Coral Snake is found up to 4000 m in the Himalayas.
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The Indian (Monocled) Cobra - Naja naja kaouthia
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized; smooth, shiny scales; wide head and neck; distinctive hood marking different from that of the spectacled cobra.
Description: The skin of the Monocled Cobra is shinier, the hood rounder and smaller and the head smaller than is that of the spectacled cobra. The colour varies widely, from yellowish to greenish brown to black, with ragged bands. There is a conspicuous white monocle on the hood. The underside is yellowish white Monocled Cobras superficially resemble Spectacled Cobras, but there are many small differences.
Distribution: Monocled Cobras are a sub-species most commonly found in northwest India, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and the Andamans, all of Bengal and Assam.
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Russells Viper - Vipera russellii
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized to large; strongly keeled scales; distinctive bright chain pattern; large triangular head.
Description: Russells Vipers are heavy, rough-scaled snakes with vertical eye pupils and generally a very bright pattern. The body colour is usually brown or yellowish and the pattern is composed of dark, round spots edged with white and black. The underside is white in the western, partly speckled in the southeastern and heavily speckled in the northeastern race. Colour variation is common, and the best recognition characters are the short, fat body, the triangular-shaped head and very regular chain like pattern. Russells vipers resemble the fat, harmless common sand boas which however have shorter and blunter tails and irregular body patterns. The bright symmetrical spots on Russells Viper's backs make them easy to differentiate. Russells Vipers are one of the big Four dangerous snakes of India. The other large Indian viper is the Levantine Viper, a heavy brown snake found in parts of Kashmir which grows to 11/2 m.
Distribution: Hills and plains throughout India upto 3,000 m.
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Saw-Scaled Viper - Echis carinatus
Distinctive Features: small; strongly keeled scales; head wider than neck; dull colour; cross mark on top f head distinctive.
Description: A rough scaled snake with large eyes, wider head than neck and stocky body. The scales are heavily keeled. The body is brown, grayish or sandy with a darker zigzag pattern on the back and a distinct cross or lance mark on the head. The underside is white with brown speckles. The tail is short and stubby. Saw-scaled Vipers are the smallest of the Big Four venomous snakes and are less of the threat to man in South India because of the small size of the southern type. The northern for, however, grows large enough to be a potentially dangerous member of the Big four.
Distribution: Throughout India, mostly on the plains. In northwest India, Saw-scaled Vipers are reported from upto 2000m ion the hills. They are plentiful in certain area such as Ratnagiri District in Maharashtra, parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadir and Andhra Pradesh.
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Common Krait - Bungarus caeruleus
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized; smooth, glossy scales; head slightly wider than neck: jet-black, usually with distinct white cross lines.
Description: Common Kraits are smooth, glossy bluish-black snakes with the rounded head slightly distinct from the neck. The body colour varies from a dark steely blue-black in a specimen which has freshly shed its skin to a pale faded bluish grey in one just about to shed. There are normally about 40 thin white cross bands. The young and some adults may have white spots along the first third of the backbone in place of the cross lines. This variation as well as uniform black variants appear in certain geographic races. The underside is white. Common Kraits are often confused with wolf snakes (Lycodon sp.) which are much smaller, with flat, somewhat pointed heads. The Common Krait is the best known of the 6 Krait species found in India and one of the big Four dangerous snakes. Besides the Common and Banded Krait, the other krait are rare and confined to the eastern Himalayas and Assam.
Distribution: Most of India including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: sea level up to 1700 m. uncommon in Bengal, Assam and Orissa, where the Banded Krait is found
In India there is no spitting cobras found luckily
Of the over 2000 species of snakes in the world, about 200 are found in India. These range from the worm snakes having a length of about 10 cms. to those more than 6 mts. long. They live in almost all habitats from the warm seas to semi-deserts, swamps, lakes and even in the Himalayan glaciers up to an elevation of about 5000 mts. Thirty main species of Indian snakes have been discribed here.
Common Worm Snake
( Typhlina bramina): A small worm-like snake found all over India. In the hills, it lives up to an elevation of 1000 mts.
Perrotet's Shield-tail Snake
(Plectrurus perroteti): A small snake found in the hills along the west coast of India, i.e., The Western Ghats, Nilgiri and Annamalai hills.
Indian Rock Python
(Python molurus): A large thick-bodied snake found in many parts of India. It ranges from the mangrove forest to arid scrublands and dense rain forest of the eastern Himalayas up to an elevation of about 2000 mts.
Common Sand Boa
(Eryx conicus): A short thick-bodied snake found in the plains and low hills of India. They are nocturnal and hunt after dark.
Red Sand Boa
(Eryx johnii): A medium-sized snake with a very blunt tail. It is found in the drier tracts of the country.
Common Wolf Snake
(Lycodon aulicus): A small slender snake found throughout India. In the hills, it occurs at an elevation of about 2000 mts.
Banded Kukri
(Oligodon arnesis): A small snake with prominent cross bands on its body. Found all over India and up to an elevation of 200 mts. in the eastern Himalayan.
Stripped Keelback
(Amaphiesma stalata): A small to medium-sized snake that is closely related to and resembles the water snake. Found all over India and up to an elevation of 2000 mts. in the hill.
Green Keelback
(Macropisthodon plumbicolor): A medium-sized keelscaled snake found in the forested region of India up to an elevation of 1500 mts.
Checkered Keelback Watersnake
(Xenochropis piscator): A medium-sized keeled snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 3000 mts.
Olive Keelback Watersnake
(Altritium schistosum): A small to medium-sized snake found in central and peninsular India up to an elevation about 1000 mts.
Trinket Snake
(Elaphe halena): A medium-sized, slender snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 4000 mts. in the Himalayas.
Rat Snake
(Ptyas muscosus): A large-scaled snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 4000 mts. It is capable of adapting to almost any environment. They are prodigal rat-eaters.
Banded Racer
(Argyrogena fasicolatus): A small to medium-sized snake found in the plains of India. It prefers to live amongst tall grass and bushes.
Royal Snake
(Spalerosophis diadema): A medium to large-sized snake found in the drier tracts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu hills and Himachal Pradesh up to an elevation of 2000 mts.
Bronze-back Tree Snake
(Dendrelaphis tristis): A medium-sized slender snake found all over India up to an elevation of 2000 mts. in the Himalayas. They prefer low bushes and thorny trees.
Flying Snake
(Chrysopelea ornata): A small to medium-sized snake found in the forest of southwest India and northeastern parts of the country north of Bihar and Orissa. They prefer to live on large trees and appear to glide for some distance.
Vine Snake
(Ahaetulla nasutus): A medium to large-sized snake found all over India, except in the northwest and parts of the Ganga plain. They may occur at elevation of about 2500 mts. preferring low bushes and trees.
Common Cat Snake
(Boiga trigonata): A small to medium-sized snake found all over India up to an elevation of 3000 mts. in the Himalayas. They are nocturnal in habit and prefer to spend the daylight hours in a cool place.
Dog-faced Watersnake
(Cerberus rhynchops): A medium-sized snake found in the coastal tracts. They live in muddy and rocky areas in estuaries, mangrove swamps, salt pans and deserted creeks.
Common Krait
(Bungarus caeruleus): A medium-sized snake with thin white bands on its body. Found almost all over India up to elevation of about 1700 mts. They are nocturnal in habit.
Banded Krait
(Bungarus caeruleus): A medium to large-sized snake with prominent yellow and black bands on its body. Found in northeast India, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh up to an elevation of 1500 mts.
Sleder Coral Snake
(Callophis melanurus): A small slender snake found in most parts of the country except parts of central and northeast India, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradseh up to an Elevation of 1500 mts.
Indian Spectacled Cobra
(Naja naja naja): A medium to large-sized snake found all over India up to an elevation of about 4000 mts. in the Himalayas. They feed on frogs, toads, rodents, birds and small snakes.
Indian Monocled Cobra
(Naja naja kaouthia): A medium-sized snake found in northeast India, parts of Uttar Pradesh , Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. They are mainly nocturnal in habit.
King Cobra
(Ophiophagus hannah): A large-sized snake that may be up to 5 mts. in length . It has distinct cross bands on its forebody. Found in dense forests of South India, Himalayan foothills up to an elevation of 2000 mts., Orissa , Bihar, West Bengal and North east India.
Hook-nosed Sea Snake
(Enhydrina schistosa): A medium-sized snake with a flattened body and tail. Found along the coast and coastal islands. They are seasonally found in the deep sea though they prefer coastal areas.
Russell's Viper
(Vipera russellii) : A medium to large-sized snake with a characteristic bright pattern on its body. Found all over India, both in the plains and hills up to an elevation of about 3000 mts.
Saw-scaled Viper
(Echis carinatus): A small-sized snake found all over India, usually in the plains. They may occur in areas as high as 2000 mts. in the northwestern Himalayas.
Bamboo Pit Viper
(Trmeresurus gramineus): A small-sized snake with a triangular head. Found in the hills of central and eastern India. It prefers cold, thick vegetation along watercourses and bamboos and other dense foliage.
Some Other Common Snakes Of India
1. Slender Worm Snake (Typhilina porrectus) 2. Pied-belly Shield-tail Snake (Melanophidium punctatum) 3. Nilgiri Shield-tail Snake(Uropeltis ocellatus) 4.Regal Python (Python reticulatus) 5. Khasi Earth Snake (Stoliczkaia khasiensis) 6. Olive Forest Snake (Rhabdops olivaceus) 7. Glossy Marsh Snake (Gerarda prevostiana).
POISONOUS SNAKES OF INDIA:
Indian (Spectacled) Cobra - Naja naja naja
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized to large; smooth, shiny scales; wide head and neck; wide black band on underside of neck; distinctive hood marking on top of neck.
Description: The Spectacled Cobra is a smooth-scaled snake with black eyes, wide neck and head and medium body. Colouring varies form black or dark brown to yellowish white. The underside is usually white or yellowish with a wide dark neck band. The body is generally covered with a speckled white or yellow pattern, sometimes forming ragged bands. The famous hood marking of the classic design, shows a connected pair of rings. Occasionally, it may not even resemble spectacles, or may be altogether absent. The cobras of northwest India are blackish and have a barely distinguishable hood marking. Cobras are often confused with the Indian rat snakes, which have a much thinner neck and head, and become 3 metres long, a metre more than do the biggest Indian cobras.
The Spectacled Cobra is the most widely distributed of the generally accepted 3 sub -species of cobras in Indian and is one of the big four dangerous snakes, 6 species of cobras occur in Asia and 9 in Africa. The jet black cobras occur in Asia and 9 in Africa. The jet black cobra of northwest India and Pakistan is another sub-species or geographic race. Except for its colour and absence of hood marking, it is very similar to the spectacled Cobra.
Distribution: Throughout India, sea level upto 4000 m (in the Himalayas)
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King Cobra - Ophiophagus Hannah
Distinctive Features: Large; smooth, shiny scales; distinct light cross bands mainly on the forebody; large head scales edges with black.
Description: The large head of the giant King Cobra is little wider than the neck. The head scales are edged with black and the overall colour varies from yellowish to deep olive-green but the tail if often jet-black. The underside is a lighter shade of the body colour. The yellow bands on the snake's back are more obvious in the light coloured specimens from Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. King Cobras are the largest venomous snakes in the world.
Distribution: Rare in India, King Cobras are confined mostly to the dense forests of the Western Ghats and the northern hill forests. Nilgiris, Plains and Western Ghats upto Goa, the Himalayan foot hills (upto 2000 m) starting near Lahore in Pakistan through North Indian to Assam. Forests of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and the Andamans.
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Banded Krait - Bungarus fasciatus
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized to large; smooth, shiny scales: wide bright yellow and black bands on back.
Description: The Banded Krait is a large, conspicuous yellow and black banded snake with a prominent backbone, blunt tail and rounded head slightly distinct from the body. The bands are faded on the underside.
Distribution: Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and reported in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Found upto 1500 m above sea level.
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Slender Coral Snake - Callophis melanurus
Distinctive Features: small, slender; smooth, shiny scales: blunt, black head; tail black, scarlet and blue.
Description: The Slender Coral Snake is light brown and family speckled. The head and neck are black with two conspicuous yellow spots on the top of the head. There is a ragged black ring at the tail-base and at the tail-up. The underside is uniform pinkish-red (coral), bright scarlet at vent, and the underside of the tail is bluish. The head is blunt and has the same width as the neck; the scales are smooth and slightly glossy. Slender Coral Snakes are one of the 5 Indian coral snakes. The other 4 are hill forest species of the Western Ghats and eastern Himalayas.
Distribution: Reported from the most parts of India on the plains, except central and northwestern India. MacClelland's Coral Snake is found up to 4000 m in the Himalayas.
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The Indian (Monocled) Cobra - Naja naja kaouthia
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized; smooth, shiny scales; wide head and neck; distinctive hood marking different from that of the spectacled cobra.
Description: The skin of the Monocled Cobra is shinier, the hood rounder and smaller and the head smaller than is that of the spectacled cobra. The colour varies widely, from yellowish to greenish brown to black, with ragged bands. There is a conspicuous white monocle on the hood. The underside is yellowish white Monocled Cobras superficially resemble Spectacled Cobras, but there are many small differences.
Distribution: Monocled Cobras are a sub-species most commonly found in northwest India, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and the Andamans, all of Bengal and Assam.
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Russells Viper - Vipera russellii
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized to large; strongly keeled scales; distinctive bright chain pattern; large triangular head.
Description: Russells Vipers are heavy, rough-scaled snakes with vertical eye pupils and generally a very bright pattern. The body colour is usually brown or yellowish and the pattern is composed of dark, round spots edged with white and black. The underside is white in the western, partly speckled in the southeastern and heavily speckled in the northeastern race. Colour variation is common, and the best recognition characters are the short, fat body, the triangular-shaped head and very regular chain like pattern. Russells vipers resemble the fat, harmless common sand boas which however have shorter and blunter tails and irregular body patterns. The bright symmetrical spots on Russells Viper's backs make them easy to differentiate. Russells Vipers are one of the big Four dangerous snakes of India. The other large Indian viper is the Levantine Viper, a heavy brown snake found in parts of Kashmir which grows to 11/2 m.
Distribution: Hills and plains throughout India upto 3,000 m.
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Saw-Scaled Viper - Echis carinatus
Distinctive Features: small; strongly keeled scales; head wider than neck; dull colour; cross mark on top f head distinctive.
Description: A rough scaled snake with large eyes, wider head than neck and stocky body. The scales are heavily keeled. The body is brown, grayish or sandy with a darker zigzag pattern on the back and a distinct cross or lance mark on the head. The underside is white with brown speckles. The tail is short and stubby. Saw-scaled Vipers are the smallest of the Big Four venomous snakes and are less of the threat to man in South India because of the small size of the southern type. The northern for, however, grows large enough to be a potentially dangerous member of the Big four.
Distribution: Throughout India, mostly on the plains. In northwest India, Saw-scaled Vipers are reported from upto 2000m ion the hills. They are plentiful in certain area such as Ratnagiri District in Maharashtra, parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadir and Andhra Pradesh.
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Common Krait - Bungarus caeruleus
Distinctive Features: Medium-sized; smooth, glossy scales; head slightly wider than neck: jet-black, usually with distinct white cross lines.
Description: Common Kraits are smooth, glossy bluish-black snakes with the rounded head slightly distinct from the neck. The body colour varies from a dark steely blue-black in a specimen which has freshly shed its skin to a pale faded bluish grey in one just about to shed. There are normally about 40 thin white cross bands. The young and some adults may have white spots along the first third of the backbone in place of the cross lines. This variation as well as uniform black variants appear in certain geographic races. The underside is white. Common Kraits are often confused with wolf snakes (Lycodon sp.) which are much smaller, with flat, somewhat pointed heads. The Common Krait is the best known of the 6 Krait species found in India and one of the big Four dangerous snakes. Besides the Common and Banded Krait, the other krait are rare and confined to the eastern Himalayas and Assam.
Distribution: Most of India including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: sea level up to 1700 m. uncommon in Bengal, Assam and Orissa, where the Banded Krait is found
In India there is no spitting cobras found luckily
