Purple-red earth snake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Purple-red earth snake |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Teretrurus
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| Species: |
sanguineus
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The purple-red earth snake (Teretrurus sanguineus) is a cool type of snake that doesn't have venom, so it's not dangerous to people. It's a special kind of "shield tail snake" because of its unique tail shape. This snake lives only in certain parts of southern India. Scientists don't currently recognize any different types or subspecies of this snake.
Where Does the Purple-Red Earth Snake Live?
This unique snake lives only in southern India. You can find it in places like the Wynaad area. It also lives in Travancore, specifically in Nalumukku (about 1,350 meters high) and Oothu (about 1,300 meters high).
Other homes for this snake include the Manimuthar Hills. These hills are part of the Western Ghats mountain range in the Tinnevelly district. It's also found in Nyamakad, which is in the Kerala Munar Hills of the Western Ghats, at a high elevation of about 2,200 meters.
The first place where this snake was officially found and described was in the "Anamallay forests," at about 4,000 feet (around 1,200 meters) above sea level.
What Does the Purple-Red Earth Snake Look Like?
The purple-red earth snake has a very interesting appearance. Its back, called the dorsum, can be brown or a beautiful purplish-red color. Its belly, called the ventrum, is usually red. Some snakes might even have black spots on their red bellies.
This snake is not very long. Its total length is about 22 cm (8+5⁄8 in). This means it's about as long as a standard ruler.
Let's look at its scales!
- The scales on its back are arranged in 15 rows around the middle of its body.
- Right behind its head, there are 17 rows of scales.
- It has between 120 and 150 scales on its belly (called ventrals).
- The scales under its tail (called subcaudals) range from 5 to 10.
The snake's eye is easy to see and is a moderate size. It's separate from the scales around it. The tip of its nose, called the snout, is rounded. The small scale at the very tip of its nose, called the rostral, can be seen from above.
The scale on its forehead, called the frontal, is longer than it is wide. The scale above its eye, called the supraocular, is about the same size as its eye. It can be as long as or shorter than the scales in front of it (the prefrontals). The scale on its temple, called the temporal, is about half the length of the scales on the top of its head (the parietals).
The snake's body is quite slender. Its body width fits into its total length about 22 to 28 times. The scales on its belly are almost twice as wide as the scales next to them.
For female snakes, the scales on their tail are smooth or only slightly bumpy. For male snakes, all the scales on their tail, plus the last few belly scales, have several small ridges. The tail of this snake ends in a simple, flattened point, almost like a small shield.
