NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Malabar Vine Snake
Ahaetulla malabarica Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020
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.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ahaetulla malabarica Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020
- Name authority
- Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020
- Common name
- Malabar Vine Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Ahaetulla
- 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
- genusAhaetulla
- speciesAhaetulla malabarica Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ahaetulla. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Vine SnakeAhaetulla borealis Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Farnsworth's Vine SnakeAhaetulla farnsworthi Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Wall's Vine SnakeAhaetulla isabellina (Wall, 1910) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Laudankia vine snakeAhaetulla laudankia Deepak, Narayanan, Sarkar, Dutta & Mohapatra, 2019 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sahyadri Vine SnakeAhaetulla sahyadrensis Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Speckle-headed WhipsnakeAhaetulla fasciolata (Fischer, 1885) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Burmese Vine SnakeAhaetulla fronticincta (Günther, 1858) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Green vine snakeAhaetulla nasuta (Lacépède, 1789) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Ghats BronzebackAhaetulla perroteti (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brown-speckled WhipsnakeAhaetulla pulverulenta (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slender-nosed Vine SnakeAhaetulla oxyrhynca (Bell, 1825) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- MALLIK, A. K., SRIKANTHAN, A. N., PAL, S. P., D’SOUZA, P. M., SHANKER, K., & GANESH, S. R. (2020). Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India. Zootaxa 4874 (1): 1-62. 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:8GNXB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.