Is the Streaked Kukri Snake venomous?

No. The Streaked Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniolatus) is non-venomous and is not considered dangerous to humans. Like most snakes, it will retreat rather than bite when given the chance.

Is the Streaked Kukri Snake poisonous?

Snakes are venomous, not poisonous. "Poisonous" means harmful to eat or touch; "venomous" means injecting toxins through a bite. The Streaked Kukri Snake is neither poisonous nor venomous.

Is the Streaked Kukri Snake dangerous?

The Streaked Kukri Snake is not dangerous to humans. It has no medically significant venom and bites only defensively if cornered or handled.

Where does the Streaked Kukri Snake live?

The Streaked Kukri Snake has verified records in 7 countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. See the distribution section below for its full range.

Colubridae

Streaked Kukri Snake

Harmless

Oligodon taeniolatus

Streaked Kukri Snake — Oligodon taeniolatus, © Aruna Gamuz

6 photographs of the Streaked Kukri Snake. © Aruna Gamuz.

The Streaked Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniolatus) is a non-venomous snake in the Colubridae family, recorded in 7 countries.

Family: Colubridae

About the Streaked Kukri Snake

The streaked kukri snake (Oligodon taeniolatus) is a species of nonvenomous snake found in Asia. It is also known as the variegated kukri. The IUCN lists the species as least concern.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by the British physician and zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon in 1853 as Coronella taeniolata.

There are two subspecies:

Oligodon taeniolatus taeniolatus (Jerdon 1853)

Oligodon taeniolatus fasciatus (Günther 1864)

Distribution

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, S. Turkmenistan, E. Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh (Sub-species: fasciatus).

Literature

Bauer, A.M. 2003 On the status of the name Oligodon taeniolatus (Jerdon, 1853) and its long-ignored senior synonym and secondary homonym, Oligodon taeniolatus (Daudin, 1803). Hamadryad 27: 205–213.

Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp.

Dotsenko I B 1984 Morphological characters and ecological peculiarities of Oligodon taeniolatus (Serpentes, Colubridae). Vestnik Zoologii 1984 (4): 23-26

Jerdon, T.C. 1853 Catalogue of the Reptiles inhabiting the Peninsula of India. Part 2. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal xxii: 522-534 [1853]

Wall, Frank 1921 Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo Mus. (H. R. Cottle, govt. printer), Colombo. xxii, 581 pages

Adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA.

Frequently asked: Streaked Kukri Snake

Is the Streaked Kukri Snake venomous?: No. The Streaked Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniolatus) is non-venomous and is not considered dangerous to humans. Like most snakes, it will retreat rather than bite when given the chance.
Is the Streaked Kukri Snake poisonous?: Snakes are venomous, not poisonous. "Poisonous" means harmful to eat or touch; "venomous" means injecting toxins through a bite. The Streaked Kukri Snake is neither poisonous nor venomous.
Is the Streaked Kukri Snake dangerous?: The Streaked Kukri Snake is not dangerous to humans. It has no medically significant venom and bites only defensively if cornered or handled.
Where does the Streaked Kukri Snake live?: The Streaked Kukri Snake has verified records in 7 countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. See the distribution section below for its full range.

Where it is found

India Pakistan Sri Lanka United States of America Germany Indonesia Turkmenistan

More Colubridae snakes

Classification

How scientists group this snake, from the broadest category down to the exact species. Each step narrows to its closest relatives.

OrderThe broad group of scaled reptiles: all snakes and lizards: Squamata
FamilyA group of related snakes that share key traits: Colubridae
GenusA close-knit group of very similar species: Oligodon
SpeciesThis exact snake, named in the two-part scientific name: Oligodon taeniolatus

Keep learning

Distribution from GBIF & iNaturalist. Venom status per CDC. Background: Wikipedia. Informational only. Never handle a snake to identify it.