TheIndian egg-eating snake orIndian egg-eater (Boiga westermanni) is a rarespecies of egg-eating snake in thefamilyColubridae. The species isendemic to theIndian subcontinent. It is also calledWestermann's snake, reflecting its scientific name.[1]
B. westermanni is glossy brown to black, with bluish white flecks posteriorly and a middorsal creamy stripe from neck to tail tip. The head is brown with a black arrow mark. Theventrals are white with brown dots. Adults may attain a total length of 78 cm (31 inches), with a tail 11 cm (4+1⁄4 inches) long.[10]
The Indian egg-eating snake is adiurnal[1] ornocturnal, terrestrial species that shows remarkable dexterity in scaling vegetation. When provoked, it raises the anterior portion of the body, forming S-shaped coils as a defensive strategy.[9]
B. westermanni exclusively feeds on bird eggs that lack embryonic growth. It has special adaptations such as vertebral hypapophyses, projections of the cervical vertebrae, that jut into the oesophagus, are enamel-capped, and help in cracking eggs.[10] The only other snakes that share these egg-eating adaptations are in the genusDasypeltis found inAfrica.[11]
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Elachistodon westermanni, p. 282).
^Mahesh Bilaskar, Santhanankrishnan Babu, Honnavali N. Kumara & Harif Parengal (2018). "First record of the Indian Egg-eater,Elachistodon westermanni REINHARDT, 1863, from Karnataka, India.https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/HER_31_1_2_0108-0110.pdf
^Captain A,Tillack F,Gumprecht A,Dandge P (2005). "First record ofElachistodon westermanni Reinhardt 1863 (Serpentes, Colubridae, Colubrinae) from Maharashtra State, India".Russian Journal of Herpetology.12 (2):156–158.
^abBoulenger GA (1896).Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Subfamily Elachistodontinæ, p. 263; GenusElachistodon, p. 263; speciesE. westermanni, p. 264).
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. (GenusElachistodon, pp. 362–363;E. westermanni, p. 363).
Günther ACLG (1864).The Reptiles of British India. London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxvii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (Elachistodon westermanni, Appendix [p. 444]).
Reinhardt [JT] (1863). "En ny Slægt af Slangenfamilien Rachiodontidæ ".Oversigt over det Kongelige danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger1863: 198–210. (Elachistodon, new genus, p. 206;E. westermanni, new species, pp. 206–210 + Figures 1–7). (in Danish and Latin).
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. (GenusElachistodon, p. 404;E. westermanni, pp. 404–405, Figure 132).
Wall F (1913). "A rare SnakeElachistodon westermanni from the Jalpaiguri District".Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society22 : 400–401.
