NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sri Lankan Keelback Blossom krait
Rhabdophis ceylonensis (Günther, 1858)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Rhabdophis ceylonensis is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka. The species is commonly known as the Sri Lanka blossom krait, the Sri Lanka keelback, and මල් කරවලා (mal karawala) or නිහලුවා (nihaluwa) in Sinhala. It is a moderately venomous snake.
Wikipedia contributors, Rhabdophis ceylonensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:21:25.415710+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhabdophis ceylonensis (Günther, 1858)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1858)
- Common name
- Sri Lankan Keelback Blossom krait
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Rhabdophis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyNatricinae
- genusRhabdophis
- speciesRhabdophis ceylonensis (Günther, 1858)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rhabdophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bavi KeelbackRhabdophis callichroma (Bourret, 1934) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boettger’s KeelbackRhabdophis callistus (Günther, 1873) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Günther's KeelbackRhabdophis chrysargoides (Günther, 1858) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orange-collared KeelbackRhabdophis himalayanus (Günther, 1864) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leonard's KeelbackRhabdophis leonardi (Wall, 1923) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zigzag-lined Water SnakeRhabdophis lineatus (Peters, 1861) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hubei KeelbackRhabdophis nuchalis (Boulenger, 1891) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tiger KeelbackRhabdophis tigrinus (Boie, 1826) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Taiwan KeelbackRhabdophis swinhonis (Günther, 1868) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orangeneck KeelbackRhabdophis flaviceps (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Green KeelbackRhabdophis plumbicolor (Cantor, 1839) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rhabdophis lateralis (Berthold, 1859) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Tropidonotus chrysargus var. ceylonensis Günther, 1858 Günther, 1858 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Rhabdophis&species=ceylonensis Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:8DRSY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.