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Ahaetulla pulverulenta facts for kids

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Ahaetulla pulverulenta
Ahaetulla pulverulenta5.jpg
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Genus:
Ahaetulla
Species:
pulverulenta
Synonyms

Dryophis pulverulentus

Brown Vine Snake
brown vine snake

Brown-speckled whipsnake or brown vine snake (Ahaetulla pulverulenta) is a species of colubrid vine snake endemic to Sri Lanka.

Etymology

It is known as හෙනකදයා (henakadaya) in Sinhala; this name provided the name anaconda.

The species name pulverulenta is from Latin, named after its ashy or dusty grayish brown coloration.

Taxonomy

It belongs to the genus Ahaetulla, one of five genera within the subfamily Ahaetuliinae. The relationships of Ahaetulla pulverulenta to some other Ahaetulla species, and to the other genera within Ahaetuliinae, can be shown in the cladogram below, with possible paraphyletic species noted:

Ahaetuliinae
sharp-nosed snakes
Ahaetulla





Ahaetulla prasina (paraphyletic)



Ahaetulla fasciolata




Ahaetulla prasina (paraphyletic)





Ahaetulla prasina (paraphyletic)



Ahaetulla mycterizans





Ahaetulla prasina (paraphyletic)








Ahaetulla anomala



Ahaetulla pulverulenta




Ahaetulla nasuta (paraphyletic)




Ahaetulla nasuta (paraphyletic)




Ahaetulla fronticincta





Proahaetulla antiqua




Dryophiops



broad-nosed snakes

Dendrelaphis



Chrysopelea





Distribution and habitat

It is found exclusively in Sri Lanka. Populations in the Western Ghats of India are now considered a separate species, Ahaetulla sahyadrensis.

It lives in forests and is fully arboreal.

Description

It is grayish-brown colored, with darker blackish spots above. It has a pointed snout, ending in a dermal appendage at the tip. It has a dark brown rhomboidal spot on the top of the head, and a brown stripe on each side of the head passing through the eye.

Behavior

It feeds on lizards and other invertebrates, and it is ovoviviparous, giving birth to 5-15 live offspring.

Gallery

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