Wildlifeof India
Purple-red Earth Snake
Shieldtails, Blind & Burrowing SnakesTeretrurus sanguineus
Basic stats
Range
Southern India: Wynaad, Travancore, Manimuthar Hills and Munnar Hills, 1,300–2,200m
Size
Total length about 22cm
The purple-red earth snake is a non-venomous shield-tail snake endemic to southern India. The back is brown or purplish red and the belly red, blotched with black in some specimens. The back scales are in 15 rows at midbody (17 behind the head), and the tail ends in a simple, sideways-flattened point. Total length is about 22 cm (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is found in Wynaad and Travancore (at Nalumukku at 1,350 m and Oothu at 1,300 m), in the Manimuthar Hills in the Western Ghats of Tinnevelly district, and at Nyamakad in the Munnar Hills of Kerala at 2,200 m.
Quick answers
- Where is the Purple-red Earth Snake found?
- Southern India: Wynaad, Travancore, Manimuthar Hills and Munnar Hills, 1,300–2,200m
- How big is the Purple-red Earth Snake?
- Total length about 22cm