''Trachischium laeve'', also known as the olive oriental slender snake, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

found in Nepal and Indian Himalaya.

Geographic range

It is found in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(western

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

) and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Description

The dorsum is uniform grayish brown. The throat, belly, underside of tail, and first row of dorsal scales are yellowish. One preocular; one postocular; temporals 1+1.5 upper labials, 3rd and 4th entering the orbit. Dorsal scales very smooth, shiny, without apical pits, in 13 rows. The male does not have any keels on the dorsal scales in the anal/basicaudal region. Ventrals 147–149; anal divided; subcaudals divided 33–39. There are 17 maxillary teeth in a continuous series, the posterior slightly shorter than the anterior. The mandibular teeth are all the same length. The measurements of the type specimens are as follows: a male, 337 mm (13 inches) SVL (Snout to Vent Length), tail 53 mm (2 inches); a female, 502 mm (19 inches) SVL, tail 70 mm (2 inches).

References

* Peracca, M.G. 1904. Nouvelles espèces d'Ophidiens d'Asie et d'Amerique, faisant partie de la collection du Museum d'histoire naturelle de Genève. Rev. Suisse Zool. 12: 663-668 * Tillack, F. & Shah, K.B. 2002. Zur Verbreitung von ''Trachischium laeve'' PERACCA 1904 mit ersten Nachweisen für den zentralen Nepal-Himalaya (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae). Sauria 24 (1): 39-44 * Wall, F. 1911. A new snake from the Western Himalayas. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 21: 201 * Sharma, R.C. ''Handbook of Indian Snakes''. Akhil Books. New Delhi. 292 pp. Trachischium Snakes of Asia Reptiles of India Reptiles of Nepal Reptiles described in 1904 Taxa named by Mario Giacinto Peracca {{snake-stub