TRACHISCHIUM APTEII

About:

• The newly discovered species belongs to a group of fossorial snakes that live mostly underground, and surface mainly during or after a heavy monsoon shower.
  
  
• Trachischium are commonly called slender snakes. Seven species are distributed across the Himalayas, and the Indo-Burma and Indo-China regions.
  
  
• Trachischium apteii was named so to honour the contribution of Deepak Apte, noted marine biologist and Director of the BNHS.
  
  
• Morphologically, the snake is distinguished by smooth and dorsal scales arranged in 15 rows throughout the body. The dorsal colour of the holotype is dark brown to black with faint dorsal longitudinal lines.
  
  
• Large-sized members of the genus measure about 293 mm to 299 mm.