Brown-speckled Whipsnake

The brown-speckled whipsnake, or brown vine snake, is a slender vine snake endemic to Sri Lanka. Populations in the Western Ghats of India are now considered a separate species. The body reaches up to 1.7 m and is greyish-brown with darker blackish spots above and a grey or brown underside. The snout is pointed and ends in a dermal appendage, and there is a dark brown rhomboidal spot on top of the head with a brown stripe through each eye (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives in forests and is fully arboreal. The eye is large with a horizontal pupil. It feeds on lizards and other invertebrates and gives birth to 5 to 15 live young. The species name is Latin for the ashy, dusty colouring. Nationally Least Concern (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).