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Common trinket snake
	Close up shot of a common trinket snake captured near Patnagarh, Odisha, India.
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Coelognathus
Species:	C. helena
Binomial name
	Coelognathus helena; (Daudin, 1803)
Synonyms
	Coluber helena ; Daudin, 1803; Herpetodryas helena ; — Schlegel, 1837; Cynophis bistrigatus ; Gray, 1849; Plagiodon helena ; — A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854; Herpetodryas malabaricus ; Jerdon, 1854; Cynophis helena ; — Günther, 1858; Coluber helena ; — Boulenger, 1894; Elaphe helena ; — M.A. Smith, 1943; Coelognathus helena ; — Helfenberger, 2001;

The trinket snake (Coelognathus helena), also known commonly as the common trinket snake, is a species of nonvenomous constricting snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to southern Central Asia.

Etymology

The specific name of this snake, helena, is thought to be a reference to Helen of Troy, considered by many to be the epitome of female beauty and the most beautiful woman in the world.^[3]

Geographic range

C. helena is found in Sri Lanka, southern India, Pakistan (Shangla), Nepal, and Bangladesh.^[1]^[2]

Its type locality is "India: Vishakhapatnam" (Daudin, 1803).

Description

See snake scales for terms used.

C. helena has the following scalation. The rostral is a little broader than deep, and visible from above. The suture between the internasals is much shorter than that between the prefrontals. The frontal is as long as its distance from the end of the snout, but shorter than the parietals. The loreal is somewhat longer than deep. One large preocular and two postoculars are present. The temporals are arranged 2+2 or 2+3. There are 9 (exceptionally 10 or 11) upper labials, and the fifth and sixth (or fourth, fifth, and sixth) enter the eye. There are 5 or 6 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shields. The anterior chin shields are as long as or a little longer than the posterior chin shields.^[4]

The dorsal scales are in 23 to 27 rows at midbody, smooth, or feebly keeled on the posterior part of the body and on the tail. The ventrals number 220-265; the anal plate is entire; and the subcaudals number 75-94.^[4]

The young are pale brown above, with black crossbands, each crossband enclosing four to six white ocelli. The adults are darker brown, with a transverse series of squarish black spots, or with more or less distinct traces of the color pattern of the young. There is a vertical black streak below the eye, and an oblique black streak behind the eye. Some specimens have a white, black-edged collar; others have two black longitudinal streaks on the head; and others are intermediate in this respect. The lower parts are yellowish, with or without a few small black spots, sometimes with a more or less distinct festooned marking on each side.^[4]

Adults may attain a total length of 4.5 ft (1.4 m), which includes a tail 10 in (25 cm) long.^[4]

Subspecies

Three subspecies of C. helena are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[2]

C. h. helena (Daudin, 1803)
C. h. monticollaris (Schulz, 1992)
C. h. nigriangularis Mohapatra, Schulz, Helfenberger, Hofmann & Dutta, 2016

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Coelognathus.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of C. helena is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 2,500 m (8,200 ft), but it also found around houses.^[1]

Diet

The trinket snake preys upon rodents (mice, rats, squirrels), small snakes, geckos, and frogs.^[1]

Behaviour

C. helena is both diurnal and nocturnal.^[1]

It is noted for its temper and will strike repeatedly if molested. The males of this species are generally more aggressive than the females. Its bites are often very damaging due to its inward pointing teeth.^{[citation needed]}

Reproduction

C. helena is oviparous.^[1]^[2] Eggs are laid throughout the year, and clutch size is 6–12 elongated eggs.^[1]

Gallery

Sideview of trinket snake head
Pattern on anterior half of body
Pattern on posterior half of body

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Ganesh SR, Wickramasinghe LJM (2021). "Coelognathus helenae [sic]". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T172655A1362536.en. Accessed on 24 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Species Coelognathus helena at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Elaphe helena, p. 120).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Coluber helena, pp. 331-332).

Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Coluber helena, pp. 36–37).
Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Coelognathus helena, p. 32).
Daudin FM (1803). Histoire Naturelle Générale et Particulière des Reptiles ... Tome sixième [Volume 6]. Paris: F. Dufart. 447 pp. + Plates LXXI-LXXX. (Coluber helena, new species, pp. 277-280 + Plate LXXVII, figure 1). (in French and Latin).
Helfenberger N (2001). "Phylogenetic relationship of Old World Ratsnakes based on visceral organ topography, osteology, and allozyme variation". Russian Journal of Herpetology 8: 1–62.
Kornacker P (1986). "Die indische Schmucknatter ". Herpetofauna 8 (44): 10. (in German).
Kornacker P (1988). "Bemerkungen zur Biologie, Haltung Zucht von Elaphe helena (Daudin 1802)". Herpetofauna 10 (57): 27-33. (in German).
Mehta RS (2003). "Prey-handling behavior of hatchling Elaphe helena (Colubridae)". Herpetologica 59 (4): 469-474.
Niehaus, Guido; Schulz, Klaus-Dieter (1987). "Die hinterasiatischen Kletternattern der Gattung Elaphe. Teil XI Elaphe helena (Daudin, 1803)". Sauria 9 (4): 3-7. (in German).
Schulz K-D (1996). Eine Monographie der Schlangengattung Elaphe Fitzinger. Berg (CH): Bushmaster. 460 pp. (in German).
Schulz K-D (1996). A monograph of the colubrid snakes of the genus Elaphe Fitzinger. Koeltz Scientific Books. 439 pp.
Sharma RC (2003). Handbook: Indian Snakes. Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India. 292 pp. ISBN 978-8181711694.
Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Elaphe helena, pp. 149–150).
Utiger U, Helfenberger N, Schätti B, Schmidt C, Ruf M, Ziswiler V (2002). "Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old World and New World ratsnakes, Elaphe Auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae)". Russ. J. Herpetol. 9 (2): 105-124.
Wall F (1921). Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka]: Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, Government Printer). xxii + 581 pp. (Coluber helena, pp. 197–203, Figure 42).
Whitaker R, Captain A (2008). Snakes of India: The Field Guide. Chennai: Draco Books. 495 pp. ISBN 978-8190187305.