Wall's Vine Snake

About the Wall's Vine Snake

Ahaetulla isabellina, also known as Wall's vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India. It was formerly considered a subspecies of A. nasuta, which is now considered to only be endemic to Sri Lanka. A 2020 study found A. nasuta to be a species complex of A. nasuta sensu stricto as well as A. borealis, A. farnsworthi, A. isabellina, and A. malabarica, elevating A. isabellina to species. The specific epithet is a reference to the isabelline yellow coloration of the species' dorsal body in live condition, which distinguishes it from other species in the complex.

Body, very slender, bright green with blue obscure patches; in some specimens uniform olive to light brown. Rostral scale, infralabials and the midbody along venter are light green to light blue; sometimes there is a yellow ventral stripe along the notched ventral keels. Inter-scalar skin is white with black and white anteriorly-converging bars along forebody, becoming reddish along hindbody. Tail and subcaudals are green. The eye vary from yellow to orange with light brown marbled patterns; horizontal pupil with a light blue or yellow colouration around... Wikipedia →