Non-venomous
Common Name: Indian Rock Python
Odia Name: ଅଜଗର
Zoological Name: Python Molurus
Family: Pythonidae
WL(P)A – Schedule – I
Thick-bodied and smooth scaled. Lance-shaped head. Heat sensitive pits on the upper lip. Two dark streaks on both side of head – one below, the other through/behind eye. Asymmetrical yellowish to dark brown, black-edged blotches on body.
Warning – Large pythons can pose danger to human.
Non-venomous
Common Name: Burmese Python
Odia Name: ବର୍ମା ଅଜଗର
Zoological Name: Python Bivittatus
Family: Pythonidae
WL(P)A – Schedule – I
Thick-bodied and smooth scaled. Lance-shaped head. Heat sensitive pits on the upper lip. Two dark streaks on both side of head – one below, the other through/behind eye. The arrow head (V mark) on head extends to the rostral; sub-ocular scales separates eye from supra-labial scales.
Warning – Large pythons can pose danger to human.
Look-alikes: Russell’s Viper
Indian Rock python
Non-venomous
Common Name: Dumeril’s black-headed snake
Odia Name: ଡ଼ମେରିଲଙ୍କ କାଳି-ମୁଣ୍ଡି ସାପ
Zoological Name: Sibynophis subpunctatus
Family: Colubridae
WL(P)A – Schedule – II
Slender body, smooth-scaled. Body and tail brownabove. with a series of tiny black dots that run along the midback. Head black with white or pale-yellow markings. Neck has white collar.
Look-alikes: Nil
Non-venomous
Common Name: COMMON BRIDAL SNAKE
Odia Name: __________
Zoological Name: Lycodon nypmha
Family: Colubridae
WL(P)A – Schedule – II
Slender body, smooth-scaled. Dark brown or black above with creamish-white bands that widen on the sides and break up on hind body. Each band is 3-4 scales wide. Upper lip, back of head and neck creamish-white. Often confused with Common krait. (Earlier it was known as Dryocalamusnympha.)
Look-alikes: Wolf snakes
Common Krait
Non-venomous
Common Name: Subhendu’s wolf snake
Odia Name: ଓଡିଶୀ ସାପ
Zoological Name: Lycodon odishii
Family: Colubridae
WL(P)A – Schedule – II
At hatching – 128 mm, Adults – 197 mm, Maximum – 394 mm.
Identification: Glossy-black colored body in hatchlings which turn to glossy-purplish-greenish-black colored body above in adults. Two tiny spots are present on each scale of the body sans the collar; the twin spots are white in hatchlings and golden yellow in adults. A collar is present in all the stages of life; the collar is white in hatchlings, which turn to yellowish in adults.
Many people think young/juvenile of L. jara contains a yellow/white collar, and treat L. odishii as a synonym of L jara. But in reality, juveniles and sub-adult specimens were reported collarless in peer reviewed journals. Three juveniles, i.e. 190 mm (Hussain & Roy 1993. JBNHS 90:113), 200 mm R/NRC/41 (Bahuguna & Bhutia 2010. Rec. zool. Surv. India: 110:37), 220 mm (Shafi et al. 2020. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 27(1):107–108); two sub-adults, i.e. 240 mm ZSI–8012 (Chaudhuri et al.2015. Hamadrayad 37:97), and 250 mm R/NRC/51 (Bahuguna & Bhutia. 2010. Rec. zool. Surv. India: 110:37) had NO collar whatsoever.
Look-alikes: Twin-spotted wolf snake
Non-venomous
Common Name: Twin-spotted wolf snake
Odia Name: ଜାରା ସାପ
Zoological Name: Lycodon jara
Family: Colubridae
WL(P)A – Schedule – II
Neonate – 177 mm, Adults – 275 mm, Maximum – 550 mm. (The collarless L. jara is not found in Odisha; we put it here so that people can compare it with L. odishii containing a white collar in hatchlings which turns to yellowish in adult).
Identification: Glossy greyish or brownish black colour in neonates, which turns glossy olive green or purplish black above in adult. Two tiny spots are present on each scale of the body; the twin spots are white colour in neonates which turns to golden yellow in adults. No collar is observed in neonates to adults.
Controversy: Although, many people think young/juvenile of L. jara contains a yellow/white collar, but in reality, juveniles and sub-adult specimens were reported collarless. Three juveniles, i.e. 190 mm (Hussain & Roy 1993. JBNHS 90:113), 200 mm R/NRC/41 (Bahuguna & Bhutia 2010. Rec. zool. Surv. India: 110:37), 220 mm (Shafi et al. 2020. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 27(1):107–108); two sub-adults, i.e. 240 mm ZSI–8012 (Chaudhuri et al.2015. Hamadrayad 37:97), and 250 mm R/NRC/51 (Bahuguna & Bhutia. 2010. Rec. zool. Surv. India: 110:37)all are collarless, and published in reputed peer reviewed journals.
Here we present 2 neonates (177-180 mm) of L. jara prominently without any collar. ????
Mildly-venomous
Common Name: DOG-FACED WATER SNAKE
Odia Name: କୁକୁର-ମୁହାଁ ପାଣି ସାପ
Zoological Name: Cerberus rynchops
Family: Homalopsidae
WL(P)A – Schedule – I
Thick body dull, strongly keeled scales. Head slightly broader than neck; small eye has elliptical pupil. Nostrils and eyes set high on head. Slate-grey, brown or olive with a darker pattern of crossbars or (sometimes faint) spots all the back. A black streak passes through eye onto the neck.
Look-alikes: Nil
Mildly-venomous
Common Name: Yellow-Green Cat Snake
Odia Name: ହଳଦୀ-ସବୁଜ ଡାଳି ସାପ
Zoological Name: Boiga flaviviridis
Family: Colubridae
WL(P)A – Schedule – II
Mildly venomous. Long body & laterally flattened, smooth-scaled. Head distinctly broader than neck; tail very long. Eyes with yellow iris and black vertical elliptic pupil. Dorsum yellowish-green, with dark black bars; inter-scalar skin yellow; venter unpatterned, uniform yellow of a rich intensity; supra-labials partly yellow; a black ocular streak present
Look-alikes: Common cat snake
Mildly-venomous
Common Name: Flying snake
Odia Name: ଉଡ଼ନ୍ତା ସାପ
Zoological Name: Chrysopelea ornata
Family: Colubridae
WL(P)A – Schedule – II
Long, slender, smooth-scaled. Yellow, greenish-yellow or pale green back with black crossbars. A series of large orange or red vertebral spots or rectangles lie between alternate pairs or black cross-bars. Yellow cross-bars and spots black head.
Look-alikes: Nil
Mildly-venomous
Common Name: COMMON SMOOTH-SCALED WATER SNAKE
Odia Name: କାଉଚିଆ / ଚିକଣି ସାପ
Zoological Name: Enhydris enhydris
Family: Homalopsidae
WL(P)A – Schedule – II
Smooth scaled. Olive, brown or grey above, either with a broad stripe on back that runs from head to tail tip, or three series of indistinct dark spots (one on back, one all each side).Young have three light lines on back. They give birth to live youngs.
Look-alikes: Olive keelback snake