Indian egg-eating snake

Indian egg-eating snake
Indian egg-eater at Amravati
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Elachistodon Reinhardt, 1863
Species:	E. westermanni
Binomial name
Elachistodon westermanni Reinhardt, 1863
Synonyms[3]
Elachistodon westermanni Reinhardt, 1863 Boiga westermanni — Mohan et al., 2018 Elachistodon westermanni — Patel & Vyas, 2019

The Indian egg-eating snake or Indian egg-eater (Elachistodon westermanni) is a rare species of egg-eating snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is also called Westermann's snake, reflecting its scientific name.^[1] The snake belongs to the monotypic genus Elachistodon.^[3]

The specific name, westermanni, is in honor of Dutch zoologist Geraldus Frederick Westermann (1807–1890).^[4]

The Indian egg-eating snake is found in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. Recent discoveries of the species come from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

The preferred natural habitats of E. westermanni are forest and shrubland, at altitudes of 40–1,000 m (130–3,280 ft).^[1]

E. westermanni is glossy brown to black, with bluish white flecks posteriorly and a middorsal creamy stripe from neck to tail tip. The head is brown with a black arrow mark. The ventrals are white with brown dots. Adults may attain a total length of 78 cm (31 inches), with a tail 11 cm (4+1⁄4 inches) long.^[10]

The Indian egg-eating snake is a diurnal^[1] or nocturnal, terrestrial species that shows remarkable dexterity in scaling vegetation. When provoked, it raises the anterior portion of the body, forming S-shaped coils as a defensive strategy.^[9]

E. westermanni exclusively feeds on bird eggs that lack embryonic growth. It has special adaptations such as vertebral hypapophyses, projections of the cervical vertebrae, that jut into the oesophagus, are enamel-capped, and help in cracking eggs.^[10] The only other snakes that share these egg-eating adaptations are in the genus Dasypeltis found in Africa.^[11]

E. westermanni is oviparous.^[3]

• Genus information
• Elachistodon westermanni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 5 November 2010.
• Animal Diversity Web

• Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Genus Elachistodon, pp. 362–363; E. westermanni, p. 363).
• Günther ACLG (1864). The Reptiles of British India. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (Elachistodon westermanni, Appendix [p. 444]).
• Reinhardt [JT] (1863). "En ny Slægt af Slangenfamilien Rachiodontidæ ". Oversigt over det Kongelige danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger 1863: 198–210. (Elachistodon, new genus, p. 206; E. westermanni, new species, pp. 206–210 + Figures 1–7). (in Danish and Latin).
• Sharma RC (2003). Handbook: Indian Snakes. Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India. 292 pp. ISBN 978-8181711694.
• 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 Elachistodon, p. 404; E. westermanni, pp. 404–405, Figure 132).
• Wall F (1913). "A rare Snake Elachistodon westermanni from the Jalpaiguri District". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 22 : 400–401.
• Whitaker R, Captain A (2008). Snakes of India: The Field Guide. Chennai: Draco Books. 495 pp. ISBN 978-8190187305.