Templeton's Kukri Snake

Templeton's kukri snake, known in Sinhala as kabara dath ketiya, is a non-venomous colubrid endemic to Sri Lanka. It is a terrestrial snake of the wet zone lowlands that reaches montane limits, up to 1,800 m, and is known from Udugama, Hewissa, Mathugama, Ratnapura, Balangoda and Peradeniya. Its former name, Oligodon templetoni, honoured the Irish naturalist Robert Templeton, who obtained the first known specimen (Wikipedia, general species account).

The head is short and scarcely distinct from the neck, and the pupil is round. The back is light brown with a light stripe along the spine and 18 to 24 narrow dark brown, light-edged cross-bands that either cross the back or go halfway. The belly is cream with square black markings. Nationally Endangered (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).