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:
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 Its slender body can be up to long from snout to tail, and is grayish-brown colored, with darker blackish spots above and a gray or brown underside. 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.Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp.
Large, transversely oval eye with horizontal pupil; gray or brown, with darker brown spots and dark brown cross or cross-shaped markings.
Behavior It feeds on lizards and other invertebrates, and it is ovoviviparous, giving birth to 5-15 live offspring.
Gallery
References
Further reading David, P. & Dubois, A. 2005. Découverte et redescription de l'holotype d'Ahaetulla pulverulenta (Dumérl, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) (Reptilia, Serpentes, Colubridae), avec une remarque sur le statut de Dryinus fuscus Dumérl, Bibron & Duméril, 1854. Zoosystema 27 (1): 163-178 [in French] Duméril, A. M. C., Bibron, G. & Duméril, A. H. A., 1854 Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie, comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris, Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret: i-xii + 781-1536 Khaire, A.;Khaire, N. 1993 Occurrence of brown whip snake Ahaetulla pulverulenta (Dum. & Bibr.) in Pune, India Snake 25: 147-148 Venkatraman, C.;Gokula, V.;Kumar, Saravana 1997 Occurrence of brown whip snake (Ahaetulla pulverulenta) in Siruvani foothills Cobra 28: 36-37