Sri Lankan keelback

Description

Balanophis ceylonensis is a snake from the family water snakes (Natricidae).For a long time the group was counted among the family smooth snakes (Colubridae) but this is considered out of date.It is the only species from the monotypic genus Balanophis.The species belonged to the genus Tropidonotus for a long time,so the obsolete scientific name is used in the literature.Balanophis ceylonensis was first scientifically described by Albert Carl Lewis Gotthilf Günther in 1858.