Guwahati, May 24: A rare species of non-venomous snake known as the Beauty Snake (Elaphe taeniura) has been recorded for the first time from Assam, with the specimen found inside a shop in Dibrugarh city.

The snake was discovered on September 24, 2024, at Lakhi Agro Services on Mankotta Road. After spotting the unfamiliar reptile among stored grains, the shop owner contacted retired zoology professor Tikendrajit Gogoi. The snake was later identified as Elaphe taeniura yunnanensis, a subspecies not previously documented in Assam with specific locality data. It is also known as the Beauty Rat Snake or Striped Trinket Snake.

“The location was a shop named Lakhi Agro Services on Mankotta road between Thana Chariali and Assam Police Reserve area of the city. The elevation record is perhaps one of the lowest for this species. The owner of the shop asked me to rescue a snake from the shop. He sent me a video of an uncommon snake species recorded in his shop not encountered earlier. The agro services shop had some stored grains besides other articles and evidence of rodents. It is connected to some vegetation on its east and north side near the city’s main drain,” Gogoi said.

Although Assam falls within the known distribution range of the species, previous literature lacked confirmed sightings from the state. This new record provides the first verified evidence of the species’ presence in Assam, expanding its known distribution in northeastern India. In India, there are reports of this species from Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, and West Bengal.

The Beauty Snake is listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List and is protected under Schedule II of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022. The snake was safely rescued and handed over to the Forest Department, who later released it into a suitable habitat.

According to Gogoi, the shop’s rodent activity and proximity to vegetation may have attracted the species, which feeds on rats and other small animals.

The finding has been documented in Reptile Rap, a herpetological newsletter published by Zoo’s Print.

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