Cantoria violacea Girard, 1858

(Fig. 11B)

Material studied: One adult, CIARI uncatalogued from Sippighat, South Andaman (Fig. 4D).

Morphology: Dorsal scales smooth, in 19:19:17 rows; ventrals 240; subcaudals 66; subcaudals 66, divided; anal divided; supralabials 6; none in contact with eye; a small subocular separating spralabials and the eye; infralabials 7 (1–4 in contact with genials); preocular 1; postocular 1; loreal 1; temporals 1+2. Dorsal colouration blackish with yellowish white bands throughout the body and tail. Venter pale white.

Distribution: Nocturnal and elusive. One juvenile was recorded in a thick mangrove swamp (~ 40 cm deep) area at dusk in Henry Lawrance Island of the Ritchie’s Archipelago. Considering that it is a mangrove dwelling species, it is likely to occur throughout most parts of the coastal mangrove swamps in the Andaman Islands.

Remarks: Wall (1919) reported it for the first time from the Andaman Islands. Ghodke et al. (2018) reported on crab-ripping behavior of C. violacea based on observations on a mud-flat from Nakabwe, Middle Andaman.

Status: Though a single individual was recorded during the present study, Ghodke and Andrews (2001) reported it to be very common in the mudflats of Cheppo, North Andaman.