Striped Keelback
Amphiesma stolatum • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Natricidae, Genus: Amphiesma, Species: Amphiesma stolatum
Widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia, including India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and southern China.
Look up Striped Keelback in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Natricidae, Genus: Amphiesma, Species: Amphiesma stolatum
Conservation
Listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide distribution and adaptability to human-modified environments.
Physical Description
Slender body with olive-brown coloration, featuring two prominent light yellowish stripes running down the length of the back and keeled scales.
Size & Dimensions
Specimen is approximately 40 cm; typical adults range from 50 to 90 cm in total length.
Habitat
Found primarily in lowland areas near agricultural fields, marshes, ponds, and slow-moving streams, frequently inhabiting damp grasslands.
Diet & Feeding
Feeds primarily on amphibians, such as frogs and toads, employing an active foraging strategy in wet microhabitats.
Reproduction
Oviparous species that typically lays clutches of 5 to 15 eggs during the warm breeding season.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide distribution and adaptability to human-modified environments.
Cultural Significance
Acts as a beneficial ecological predator by helping control local amphibian populations in agricultural landscapes.
Notes
Cambodia