Oligodon

Short description: Genus of snakes

Oligodon

Western kukri snake Oligodon affinis
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Reptilia
Order:  | Squamata
Suborder:  | Serpentes
Family:  | Colubridae
Subfamily:  | Colubrinae
Genus:  | Oligodon
Fitzinger, 1826[1]
Type species
Oligodon bitorquatus

Species

84 known species[2]

Oligodon is genus of colubrid snakes that was first described by Austrian zoologist Leopold Fitzinger in 1826.[1] This genus is widespread throughout central and tropical Asia. The snakes of this genus are commonly known as kukri snakes.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Description
* 2 Species
* 3 References
* 4 External links
* 5 Further reading

## Description

The species in the genus Oligodon are egg eaters and are usually under 90 cm (35 in) in total length (including tail). Different species display widely variable patterns and colorations. They subsist mostly by scavenging the eggs of birds and reptiles. Besides eggs, species of this genus also feeds on lizards, frogs, and small rodents.

Oligodon is a rear-fanged snake genus. All member species have a set of enlarged teeth placed in the back of the upper jaws, as well as functional Duvernoy's glands. They are not dangerous to humans, though. Bites by some species have been reported to bleed excessively, suggesting presence of anticoagulants in the Duvernoy's gland secretions.[4] Species of Oligodon are mostly nocturnal, and live on the floor of mature forests.

The common name of the genus comes from the kukri, a distinctively shaped Nepalese knife, which is similar in shape to the broad, flattened, curved hind teeth of Oligodon species. These teeth are specially adapted for their main diet of eggs; the teeth cut open eggs as they are being swallowed by the snake, allowing for easier digestion.

## Species

There are 84 recognized species in the genus Oligodon according to Reptile Database as of April 2023[2]

The source column gives direct links to the sources used:

* IUCN description of species at International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List categories are:

EX \- Extinct, EW \- Extinct in the Wild
CR \- Critically Endangered, EN \- Endangered, VU \- Vulnerable
NT \- Near Threatened, LC \- Least Concern
DD \- Data Deficient, NE \- Not Evaluated

* RDB description of species at Reptile Database.

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Oligodon.

Image | Common name | Species | Authority | Geographic range | Conservation status | Source

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| Western kukri snake, Malabar brown kukri snake | O. affinis | Günther, 1862 | India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Light-barred kukri snake | O. albocinctus | (Cantor, 1839)[5] | Nepal, Bangladesh, India (Assam, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh), Myanmar, Vietnam, China (Tibet, Yunnan) |  | RDB
| Northern short-headed snake | O. ancorus | (Girard, 1858) | Philippines (Mindoro, Luzon) | NT | IUCN RDB
| Annam kukri snake | O. annamensis | Leviton, 1953 | Vietnam (Lam Dang Province) | DD | IUCN RDB
| Spotted kukri snake, ringed kukri snake | O. annulifer | (Boulenger, 1893) | Brunei, Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Russet kukri snake, common kukri snake, banded kukri | O. arnensis | (Shaw, 1802) | Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India (West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab), Pakistan, Nepal |  | RDB
| Barron's kukri snake | O. barroni | (M.A. Smith, 1916) | Thailand, Southern Vietnam, Cambodia, South Laos | LC | IUCN RDB
| Javanese mountain kukri snake, Boie's kukri snake | O. bitorquatus | F. Boie, 1827 | Indonesia (Java, possibly South Sumatra and Sumbawa) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Double-striped kukri snake | O. bivirgatus | T. Qian, S. Qi, J. Shi, Y. Lu, R.W. Jenkins, Y. Mo & P. Li, 2021 | China (Hainan) |  | RDB
| Short-tailed kukri snake, shorthead kukri snake | O. brevicauda | Günther, 1862 | India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala) | VU | IUCN RDB
| Templeton's kukri snake | O. calamarius | (Linnaeus, 1758) | Sri Lanka | EN | RDB
| Assam kukri snake | O. catenatus | (Blyth, 1854) | India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South China (Guangdong, Guangxi) |  | RDB
| Chinese kukri snake | O. chinensis | (Günther, 1888) | southern China, northern Vietnam | LC | IUCN RDB
| Churah Valley kukri snake | O. churahensis | Mirza, Bhardwaj & Patel, 2021 | India (Himachal Pradesh) |  | [6]
| Black cross-barred kukri snake, ashy kukri snake, golden kukri snake, Günther's kukri snake | O. cinereus | (Günther, 1864) | India (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh), Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, China (Yunnan, Hong Kong, Hainan, Guangxi, Fujian, Guangdong) | LC | IUCN RDB
|  | O. condaoensis | S.N. Nguyen, V.D.H. Nguyen, S.H. Le & R. Murphy, 2016 | S Vietnam (Hon Ba Island) |  | RDB
| Pegu kukri snake | O. cruentatus | (Günther, 1868) | Myanmar | LC | IUCN RDB
|  | O. culaochamensis | S.N. Nguyen et al., 2017 | Vietnam |  | RDB
| North-east Indian kukri snake, Cantor's kukri snake | O. cyclurus | (Cantor, 1839)[7] | India (Assam), Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China (Yunnan), Nepal, Bangladesh | LC | IUCN RDB
| Gray's kukri snake, Bengalese kukri snake | O. dorsalis | (Gray & Hardwicke, 1835) | India (Assam), Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand |  | RDB
| Eberhardt's kukri snake | O. eberhardti | Pellegrin, 1910 | Vietnam, China (Guangxi, Fujian), possibly Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar | LC | IUCN RDB
| Nagarkot kukri snake | O. erythrogaster | Boulenger, 1907 | Central and East Nepal, India (Sikkim) |  | RDB
| Red-striped kukri snake, Namsang kukri snake | O. erythrorhachis | Wall, 1910 | India (Arunachal Pradesh) | VU | IUCN RDB
| Jewelled kukri snake, Everett's kukri snake[8] | O. everetti | Boulenger, 1893 | Indonesia (Kalimantan), Malaysia (Sabah) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Small-banded kukri snake, fasciolated kukri snake | O. fasciolatus | (Günther, 1864) | Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam | LC | IUCN RDB
| Forbes' kukri snake[9] | O. forbesi | (Boulenger, 1883) | Indonesia (Selaru and Yamdena in Tanimbar Islands) | NT | IUCN RDB
| Taiwan kukri snake, Formosa kukri snake | O. formosanus | (Günther, 1872) | Vietnam, Taiwan, South Japan (Ryukyu Islands, primarily Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), South China (Chekiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Nan Ao Island, Hainan, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Zhejiang, Yunnan) |  | RDB
| Hampton's kukri snake | O. hamptoni | Boulenger, 1918 | Myanmar | DD | IUCN RDB
| Inornate kukri snake, unicolored kukri snake | O. inornatus | (Boulenger, 1914) | Cambodia, North and East Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB
| Grey kukri snake, Joynson's kukri snake | O. joynsoni | (M.A. Smith, 1917) | northern Thailand, possibly Laos, Myanmar, China (Yunnan) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Walnut kukri snake | O. juglandifer | (Wall, 1909) | India (Sikkim), West Bhutan | VU | IUCN RDB
|  | O. kampucheaensis[10] | Neang, Grismer & Daltry, 2012 | Cambodia |  | RDB
|  | O. kheriensis[11] | Acharji & Ray, 1936 | India (Uttar Pradesh), Southwest Nepal |  | RDB
| Lacroix kukri snake[12] | O. lacroixi | Angel & Bourret, 1933 | China (Sichuan, Yunnan), Vietnam | VU | IUCN RDB
| Medog kukri snake | O. lipipengi | Jiang, Wang, Li, Ding, Ding & Che, 2020 | China (Tibet) |  | RDB
|  | O. lungshenensis | Zheng & Huang, 1978 | China (Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan) | NT | IUCN RDB
| Angel's kukri snake | O. macrurus | (Angel, 1927) | Vietnam | DD | IUCN RDB
| Barred short-headed snake, spotted kukri snake | O. maculatus | (Taylor, 1918) | Philippines (Mindanao) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Arakan kukri snake, McDougall's kukri snake | O. mcdougalli | Wall, 1905 | Myanmar | LC | IUCN RDB
| Bluebelly kukri snake | O. melaneus | Wall, 1909 | India |  | RDB
| Abor Hills kukri snake | O. melanozonatus | Wall, 1922 | India, China (Tibet) |  | RDB
| Sulu short-headed snake, Meyerink's kukri snake | O. meyerinkii | (Steindachner, 1891) | Philippine Islands (Bongao, Jolo, Papahang, Sibutu, Tawi-Tawi in Sulu Archipelago), possibly Malaysia (Sabah) | EN | IUCN RDB
| Spotted-bellied short-headed snake, Luzon kukri snake | O. modestus | Günther, 1864 | Philippines (Mindanao, Negros, Tablas, Panay, Cebu, possibly Luzon) | VU | IUCN RDB
| Morice's kukri snake[13] | O. moricei[14] | David, G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008 | Southern Vietnam | DD | IUCN RDB
| Cambodian kukri snake, Mouhot's kukri snake[13] | O. mouhoti | (Boulenger, 1914) | Cambodia, East Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB
| Nikhil's kukri snake | O. nikhili | Whitaker & Dattatri, 1982 | India (Tamil Nadu) | DD | IUCN RDB
|  | O. notospilus | Günther, 1873 | Philippine Islands (Palawan, Busuanga, Balabac, Mindanao) |  | RDB
| Eyed kukri snake, ocellated kukri snake | O. ocellatus | (Morice, 1875) | Cambodia, Lao, southern Vietnam | LC | IUCN RDB
| Eight-lined kukri snake, eight-striped kukri snake, Grace's kukri snake | O. octolineatus | (Schneider, 1801) | Brunei, Indonesia (Java, Borneo, Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Singapore | LC | IUCN RDB
| Ornate kukri snake | O. ornatus | Van Denburgh, 1909 | China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang), Taiwan, | LC | IUCN RDB
| Perkin's short-headed snake | O. perkinsi | (Taylor, 1925) | Philippines (Palawan, Culion and Calauit Islands) | NT | IUCN RDB
| Petronella's[15] kukri snake | O. petronellae | Roux, 1917 | Indonesia (Sumatra) | DD | IUCN RDB
| Pha-Ngan kukri snake | O. phangan | Pauwels, Thongyai, Chantong & Sumontha, 2021 | Thailand (Surat Thani Province: Pha-Ngan Island) |  | RDB
|  | O. planiceps | (Boulenger, 1888) | Myanmar | LC | IUCN RDB
| Pulau Weh kukri snake | O. praefrontalis | F. Werner, 1913 | Indonesia (Weh Island) | DD | IUCN RDB
|  | O. promsombuti | Pauwels, Thongyai, Chantong, & Sumontha, 2021 | Thailand (Surat Thani Province, Trang Province: Na Yong District) |  | RDB
| Bleeker's Kukri Snake | O. propinquus | Jan, 1862 | Indonesia (Java) |  | RDB
| False striped kukri snake | O. pseudotaeniatus[14] | David, G. Vogel & van Rooijen, 2008 | Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB
|  | O. pulcherrimus | F. Werner, 1909 | Indonesia (Sumatra) | VU | IUCN RDB
| Purple kukri snake, brown kukri snake | O. purpurascens | (Schlegel, 1837) | Brunei, Indonesia (Bali, Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Singapore, Thailand | LC | IUCN RDB
| Long-snouted kukri snake | O. rostralis | H.N. Nguyen, Tran, L.H. Nguyen, Neang, Yushchenko & Poyarkov, 2020 | Vietnam |  |
|  | O. russelius | (Daudin, 1803) | India, Nepal |  |
| Saint Girons' kukri snake[16] | O. saintgironsi[3] | David, G. Vogel & Pauwels, 2008 | Vietnam, Cambodia | DD | IUCN RDB
| Half-keeled kukri snake, barred kukri snake, banded kukri snake | O. signatus | (Günther, 1864) | Indonesia (Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Singapore | LC | IUCN RDB
| Splendid kukri snake | O. splendidus | (Günther, 1875) | Myanmar | LC | IUCN RDB
| Duméril's kukri snake | O. sublineatus | A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 | Sri Lanka | VU | IUCN RDB
| Striped kukri snake | O. taeniatus | (Günther, 1861) | Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, possibly China (Yunnan) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Streaked sukri knake, Loos snake | O. taeniolatus | (Jerdon, 1853) | Afghanistan, India, Iran, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan | LC | IUCN RDB
|  | O. teyniei | David, Hauser & G. Vogel, 2022 | Laos |  |
| Mandalay kukri snake, Theobald's kukri snake | O. theobaldi | (Günther, 1868) | Bangladesh, Myanmar | LC | IUCN RDB
|  | O. tillacki | Bandara, Ganesh, Kanishka, Danushka, Sharma, P. Campbell, Ineich, G. Vogel & Amarasinghe, 2022 | India |  |
|  | O. tolaki | Amarasinghe, Henkanaththegedara, Campbell, Riyanto, Hallermann & G. Vogel, 2021 | Indonesia (Southeast Sulawesi) |  | RDB
|  | O. torquatus | (Boulenger, 1888) | Myanmar | DD | IUCN RDB
| Travancore kukri snake | O. travancoricus | Beddome, 1877 | India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu) | DD | IUCN RDB
| Three-lined kukri snake | O. trilineatus | (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) | Indonesia (Nias, Siberut, Sumatra) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Langbian kukri snake | O. tuani | S.N. Nguyen, Le, Vo & R. Murphy, 2022 | Vietnam |  | RDB
|  | O. unicolor | (Kopstein, 1926) | Indonesia (Selaru, Yamdena) | NT | IUCN RDB
| Jerdon's kukri snake | O. venustus | (Jerdon, 1853) | India (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu) | LC | IUCN RDB
| Dark-spined kukri snake, vertebral kukri snake | O. vertebralis | (Günther, 1865) | Indonesia (Kalimantan), Malaysia (Sabah) | DD | IUCN RDB
| Bleeker's kukri snake | O. waandersi | (Bleeker, 1860) | Indonesia (Java, Sulawesi, Buton, Sula Islands) |  | RDB
| Wagner's kukri snake | O. wagneri | David & G. Vogel, 2012 | Indonesia (Nias) |  | RDB
|  | O. woodmasoni | (Sclater, 1891) | India (Nicobar Islands, possibly Andaman Islands) |  | RDB

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fitzinger LJ (1826). Neue Classification der Reptilien nach ihren natürlichen Verwandtschaften. Nebst einer Verwandtschafts-tafel und einem Verzeichnisse der Reptilien-Sammlung des K. K. zoologischen Museums zu Wien. Vienna: J.G. Heubner. five unnumbered + 67 pp. + one plate. (Oligodon, new genus, p. 56). (in German and Latin).
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Search results Genus: Oligodon – Exact match". Reptile Database. http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?genus=Oligodon&exact[0]=genus&submit=Search.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 David P, Vogel G, Pauwels OSG (2008). "A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from northern Vietnam, southern China and central Laos". Zootaxa 1939: 19–37. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1939.1.3. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2012/f/z03498p062f.pdf.
4. ↑ "Defensive hemipenis display in the kukri snake Oligodon cyclurus ". Journal of Herpetology 26 (2): 238–241. 1992. doi:10.2307/1564874.
5. ↑ Bombay Natural History Society (2005). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay Natural History Society.. p. 21. https://books.google.com/books?id=TNfaAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
6. ↑ Mirza, Zeeshan A.; Bhardwaj, Virender Kumar; Patel, Harshil (2021). "A New Species of the Genus Oligodon Boie in Fitzinger, 1826 (Reptilia, Serpentes) from the Western Himalayas". Evolutionary Systematics 5 (2): 335–345. (Oligodon churahensis, new species).
7. ↑ Akonda, A.W.; Khan, M.A.; Khan, S.M.M.H.; Haque, M.N.; Khan, M.M.H.; Ahmed, R.; Ameen, M.; Islam, M.A. et al. (2000). Red book of threatened mammals of Bangladesh. IUCN Bangladesh. p. 29. ISBN 9789847460048. https://books.google.com/books?id=c-VEAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
8. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN:978-1-4214-0135-5. (Oligodon everetti, p. 86).
9. ↑ Beolens et al. (2011). p. 91.
10. ↑ Neang T, Grismer LL, Daltry JC (2012). "A new species of kukri snake (Colubridae: Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826) from the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, Cardamom Mountains, southwest Cambodia ". Zootaxa 3388: 41–55.
11. ↑ Acharji MN, Ray HC (1936). "A new species of Oligodon from the United Provinces (India)". Records of the Indian Museum, Calcutta 38: 519–520.
12. ↑ Beolens et al. (2011). p. 149.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Beolens et al. (2011). p. 183.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `David2008b`
15. ↑ Beolens et al. (2011). pp. 70, 205.
16. ↑ Beolens et al. (2011). p. 231.

## External links

* "Kukri snake". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 7, 2005.
* "Brown Kukri Snake". Wildlife Singapore. Retrieved July 7, 2005

## Further reading

* Green, Marc D.; Orlov, Nikolai L.; Murphy, Robert W. (2010). "Toward a Phylogeny of the Kukri Snakes, Genus Oligodon ". Asian Herpetological Research 2 (1): 1-21.
* Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Genus Oligodon, pp. 195–201).

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