Nasal divided; portion of rostral seen from above as long as its distance from tho frontal or a little shorter; suture between the internasals usually shorter than that between the prefrontals: frontal as long as its distance from the end of the snout, as long as the parietals; loreal usually longer than deep; preocular single, usually with a small subocular below, between the third and fourth labials; one or two postoculars; temporals 1+2; upper labials 8, fourth and fifth entering the eye, 3 or 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields; posterior chin-shields one half or loss than one half the size of the anterior. Scales in 17 rows. Ventrals 160-180 (196); anal undivided; subcaudals 34–39. Pale brown, purplish or reddish above; markings on the head very indistinct; uniform above and below. Total length 30 inches; tail 3.[4]
This species has variable colouration, and O. cattienensis, the "Cat Tien kukri snake" was placed at species level,[5] but is now considered a colour morph of O. cinereus.
^Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. (Part under Simotes violaceus)
^Vassilieva AB, Geissler P, Galoyan EA, Poyarkov NA, van Devender RW, Böhme W (2013) A new species of Kukri Snake (Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826; Squamata: Colubridae) from the Cat Tien National Park, southern Vietnam. Zootaxa 3702(3):233–246 (ISSN 1175-5326)
