Description ²

INTRODUCTION

• Non Venomous
• Royal snakes are found across Northern Africa, Middle East, Central Asia & India.
• Three species of Royal snakes found in India.

IDENTIFICATION

• Medium-sized to large body with keeled scales.
• Usually have yellow, orange and reddish dorsal coloration, often with mildly darker blotches across body.
• Pattern known to change as it grows. Often used by snake charmers due to attractive colors.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

• Found in Northern parts of India like Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and parts of UP.
• Inhabit arid, semi-arid areas and rocky terrain of north-western India.
• Hide in rat holes, rocky crevices.
• Also found in trees and bushes while hunting.

DIET AND BEHAVIOR

• Mainly eat rodents and sometimes birds and lizards..
• Diurnal snakes that are terrestrial but excellent and fast climbers.
• Very alert and when disturbed, coil and hiss very loudly. However, rarely bite.

SPECIES OF ROYAL SNAKES

• Diadem Royal Snake(Spalerosophis diadema) : Yellowish dorsal with orange blotches across body.
• Red spotted Royal Snake (Spalerosophis arenarius) : Found in the Thar desert. Looks similar to the Diadem.
• Black Headed Royal Snake (Spalerosophis atriceps) : Has a black head and patches of black across body.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Vinay Gogula, all rights reserved, uploaded by Vinay Gogula
2. (c) Vinay Gogula, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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