Fowlea piscator
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The checkered keelback (Fowlea piscator), also known commonly as the Asiatic water snake, is a common species in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Asia. It is non-venomous. The eye of F. piscator is rather small and shorter than its distance from the nostril in the adult. Its rostral scale is visible from above. The internasal scales are much narrowed anteriorly and subtriangular, with the anterior angle truncated and as long as the prefrontal scales. The frontal scale is longer than its distance from the end of the snout, and as long as the parietals or a little shorter. The loreal is nearly as long as it is deep. There are one preocular and three (rarely four) post-oculars. Its temporals are 2+2 or 2+3. There are normally nine upper labials, with the fourth and fifth entering the eye; and five lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are shorter than the posterior. The dorsal scales are arranged in 19 rows, strongly keeled, with outer rows smooth. The ventrals number 125–158, the anal is divided, and the subcaudals number 64–90. Coloration is very variable, consisting of dark spots arranged quincuncially... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 4 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 2 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 3 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Lucknow | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Guwahati | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kolkata | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Yangon | 🇲🇲 Myanmar |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehru Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Chhatbir Zoo | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chequered Keelback sighting in Chennai on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 22 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Chequered Keelback in Chennai on a given day, against about 10% in January to April, the lowest months. That is one of Chennai's wettest months, with about 290 mm of rain against 5 mm in February.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chequered Keelback sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
15th of 20
Of the 20 cities where we can rate Chequered Keelback sightings, Chennai ranks 15th at about 20%. The best odds are in Chattogram (Bangladesh, about 50%), Dhaka (Bangladesh, about 40%) and Thrissur (India, about 40%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Chequered Keelback that you can see in Chennai (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Dhaman (about 10%), Buff Striped Keelback (about 10%) and Common Bronzeback Tree Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chequered Keelback is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Chennai (38 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
