Gray's Earth Snake

Gray's earth snake is a small burrowing snake of the shieldtail family Uropeltidae, endemic to Sri Lanka. Its total length is 10 to 27 cm. It is dark brown above and below with yellow spots that are more or less joined into a stripe along each side, and some young are yellow with a dark brown spot on each scale of the back, chin and tail (Wikipedia, general species account).

The snout is pointed and the tail is round or slightly compressed from side to side, ending in a scute with two small spines. The species has been placed in several genera over time, including Mytilia, Plectrurus, Rhinophis and Silybura. Nationally Endangered (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012, listed as Uropeltis melanogaster).