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Cylindrophis jodiae
The top of the body is black with a beautiful irridescent sheen which is purplish in some lights. There are light bands on the dorsal surface which are more clearly seen when it is in defensive posture (picture 2). The ventral surface is acheckered pattern of black and white bars. The underside of the tail has an orange tip which it raises up like a cobra when it feels threatened.
They are usually found in damp areas such as swamps, rice paddies or other. agricultural land. I found this one crossing a road between some ponds and a drainage ditch.
These guys are fossorial and spend most of their time underground so I was very happy to see this one above ground. Full story here https://nickswildlife.org/2018/03/09/wha... This species was first described in 2015 and distinguishing between different species of pipe snake can be difficult. I was sent this link which really helps https://novataxa.blogspot.com/2015/06/cy...
Spotted on Mar 6, 2018
Submitted on Mar 18, 2018
7 Comments
Thanks for fixing this Nick! I'll put it back on my list.
Hi Daniele, I don't know why it came up in Cameroon, I pasted the coordinates in from google maps. I have updated the location now and it is in the correct location. Thanks for considering my picture.
Hi Nick! We'd love to feature this beautiful snake! It seems you've mistakenly located it to Cameroon (Africa). Thanks in advance for relocating the pin to the right Thai location.
Thank you all, I thought at first it was a Red-tailed Pipe Snake (Cylindrophis ruffus), the reference books say that there is only one species present in Thailand (C. ruffus) but actualy there are a few and this one is a newly described species, first described in 2015,
Beautiful snake. Lucky to have seen him above ground so you could share him with us. Thanks Nick.
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
A very pretty snake....