Platyplectrurus trilineatus

The tri-striped shield-tail snake, or lined thorntail snake, is a shield-tail snake endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India, found in the Anamalai Hills of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a very rare snake about which nothing is known of live colouring and natural history. Adults are reddish brown or brick-red above, with three black stripes that may be continuous or interrupted, and the snout is broadly rounded (Wikipedia, general species account).

Adults may attain 40 cm in total length. The young are dark brown or black above, with two or more narrow yellowish stripes, and yellowish below with a brown dot on each belly scale. Like most shieldtails, it is presumed to be a nocturnal burrower in evergreen forest.