Coelognathus helena
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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. 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.
C. helena is found in Sri Lanka, southern India, Pakistan (Shangla), Nepal, and Bangladesh. Its type locality is "India: Vishakhapatnam" (Daudin, 1803). 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... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bondla Zoo | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Nehru Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Trinket Snake sighting in Dehradun on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 8 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Trinket Snake in Dehradun on a given day, against under 5% in February–July and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Dehradun's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain against 5 mm in November.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Trinket Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Trinket Snake sightings, Dehradun ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Pune (India, about 30%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Trinket Snake that you can see in Dehradun (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Dhaman (about 30%), Buff Striped Keelback (about 30%) and Chequered Keelback (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Trinket Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Dehradun (7 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.
