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 NEWS |
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Rare Snake Found in Srimangol Forest
| Experts of the IUCN
Bangladesh Country Office detected a rare and small snake
known as slender coral in Lauachhara forest of Srimangol upazila
in Sylhet. |
An IUCNB team of experts found the venomous snake during a
biodiversity observation mission in the forest on May 21,
2003. The snake is locally known as `Sundari Prabal'. Its
scientific name is Callophis melanurus. The snake is very
small in size, only a little fatter in its grith than the
earthworm. Its tail is deep red and the back is dark brown
with brown stripes on every scalp. The head and the shoulder
of the snake are black and there are two tiny yellow marks
on its head. |
Coral snake
Photo by M. Sazedul Islam
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| There are black and white rings around the middle
part of its body and a pair of bands near the tail are clearly
visible. When the snake gets alarmed, it raises its tail in
the air but keeps its head hidden. Earlier, Dr. Ali Reza Khan,
an eminent zoologist had also found a coral snake similar
species in the Hazarikhil forest in Chittagong, which had
escaped capture then. The slender coral usually lives under
the shedding leaves of trees the damp forest bed and rarely
comes out during heavy rainfall. The snake lives on earthworm
and other species of even smaller snakes. |
Source: IUCN Bangladesh
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