Raclitia indica Gray 1842 Zoological
Miscellany, p. 67. Type locality: Malay Peninsula. Syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.2.36,
1946.1.2.46.
Hypsirhina indica -
Boulenger, 1896 Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum.3:4.
Enhydris indica - Tweedie, 1957
Snakes of Malaya, p. 89.
Diagnosis: A snake with seven upper labials, one postocular, and 19
scale rows on the neck and mid-body, which are reduced to 17 rows in front of
the vent. The 19 rows of dorsal scales at mid-body will separate it from most
other homalopsids with the exceptions of Hypsiscopus
plumbea and Miralia alternans.
However, plumbea has a single
internasal that does not make contact with the loreal and a dorsal pattern that
is uniform in coloration, while M. indica
has a divided internasal scale that does contact the loreal on each side, and
it has a pattern of irregular transverse bands. M. alternans has two postoculars, less than 143 ventral scales, and
eight upper labials, while E. indica has 173 - 175 ventral scales.
Etymology: The name indica is probably derived from the Latin Indicus, meaning of India, and probably
refers to the “East Indies” or Southeast Asia in a general sense.
Distribution: This poorly known species occurs at Selangor, Malaysia,
and possibly Singapore. Literature comments on distribution: Flower (1896)
"Malay Peninsula?" Gyi (1970) reported it from the Malay Peninsula.
Smith (1930) reported it from near Taiping (Malay Peninsula) based upon a
Selangor Museum specimen and from Singapore based upon a Dublin Museum
specimen. The Singapore locality is highly problematic. Lim (1975) reported a
specimen collected in a jungle stream at Klag in Selangor.
Size: Lim Boo Lait and Kamarudin (1975) reported a specimen with a
length of 47 cm. The only specimen measured was a male that had a total length
of 345 mm, and a tail length of 42 mm. The tail in the single male was 12% of
the SVL.
External Morphology: The body is elongate and the head is slightly
depressed. The eyes are dorsolateral and relatively small, having a diameter
about equal to the anterior margin of the supraocular.
On the head the
rostral is pentagonal and about twice as broad as tall. The bottom margin shows
almost no notching. The rostral is not visible from above. The nasal scales are
in contact, both have a nasal cleft that goes to the first labial. The
internasal scale is divided and does not penetrate the nasals. The internasals
are small, about half the size of the nasals and half the size of the
prefrontal scales. The prefrontals are large and are in broad contact with the
loreal and are about as long as the supraocular. The frontal is relatively
short, less than the interorbital distance, and shorter than the parietals. The
parietals are relatively large, about 1.25 times the length of the frontal. The
loreal is triangular with the anterior margin much wider than the posterior
margin. It is in contact with the second and third upper labials, on the right
side. The supraocular is single and much broader posteriorly. It has a tab
which extends off the posterior end and forms what could be considered an upper
postocular scale. The single preocular is small and taller than long; the
postocular is singular and broad; there are no subocular scales. There are
seven upper labials, the fourth enters the orbit, and the seventh is the
largest. The primary temporal is elongated, as long as the last two upper
labials. There are two secondary temporal scales.
On the chin the lower
labials number eight or nine, the fifth is the largest. The first four are in
contact with the first pair of chin shields. The anterior chin shields are
longer than the second pair. The second pair is separated by a pair of smaller
scales and barely distinguishable from the gulars. There are four gular scales.
On the body the smooth
dorsal scales on the neck and mid-body are in 19 rows, these rows are reduced
to 17 in front of the vent. The first row is ovate and they become more
elongate toward the midline. The ventral scales are about 3 times the length of
a nearby dorsal scale. Ventral scales number 173 - 175 in females and 165 - 175
in males (Gyi, 1970). The anal plate is divided. In the single male specimen
examined there are four scales lateral and posterior to the anal plate; on the
middle two scales on the right and the bottom two scales on the left are
swollen tubercles, difficult to see and more obvious on some scales than
others.
On the tail the dorsal
scales on the tail are ovate and smooth. The subcaudal scales are divided and
number 28 in a female and 34 in the male specimen. At the base of the tail the
width is 78% of the height in one specimen.
Color and Pattern. The
crown of the head is more or less uniform brown with indistinct light spots on
the prefrontals, loreals, and upper labials. There is an incomplete crossbar
across the back of the head. The chin scales are brown and spotted and a cream
cross bar starts at the angle of the jaw and transverses the gular area. There
are 61 light cream bars that transverse the ventral surface and extend onto the
third dorsal scale row. The dorsal scales are brown with cream spots scattered
in areas to form indistinct and incomplete crossbars particularly on the
anterior body. The tail has a similar pattern with a central dark area on the
ventral surface.
Natural History
The overall body form of
this snake (small narrow head, thin body, short tail, and a relatively low
dorsal scale count) suggests a burrowing existence, thus like some other homalopsids
this species may be an aquatic burrower. Lim and Kamarudin (1975) collected a
specimen in a jungle stream at Klang in Selangor. Tweedie (1983) reported five
known specimens; I have seen only the syntypes. Diet and reproduction data are
unknown.