Amphiesma stolatum

黃頷蛇科，Natricinae 亞科
Colubridae, subfamily Natricinae

90 cm

台灣全島、馬祖與蘭嶼海拔500m以下。

台灣，南中國（安徽，廣東，廣西，貴州，河南，湖南，雲南，浙江，海南，福建，江西），斯里蘭卡，印度（馬哈拉施特拉邦，阿魯納恰爾邦），緬甸，泰國，越南，寮國，柬埔寨，尼泊爾，巴基斯坦。

Small snake; total length up to 90 cm. There are 17-19 rows of scales, which are strongly keeled except, except those on the flanks. Head is elongate oval to slightly triangular; body is slender; tail is long. Eye is medium to large; iris is dappled yellow and black, with outer part of eye black and blending into yellow around pupil; pupil is round, jet black, surrounded by narrow band of light to medium yellow. The supraocular is moderately well developed forming a ridge above and a short distance anterior to eye. Tongue has black stem and gray fork tips. Upper head is gray or medium to olive brown with usually prominent upper shields due to black borders. There is a cream or yellow area, adjourning to a black vertical line, anterior to and posterior to eye. The lighter supralabials are well marked with black along sutures or on posterior margin of each scale. Two yellow or buff stripes extend along the sides of the gray, brownish or olive-green upper body, which is crossed by blackish bars. The stripes are usually diffuse at neck and especially bright on the second half of body. Near the neck, the crossbars are prominent whereas on the second half of body they may become diffuse. The ventral head is cream to bright yellow while the ventral surface of neck region is yellow. The ventral body posterior to neck and ventral tail are white to light gray with black spots or areas of scattered dark pigment on lateral quarter of the ventral area, which appears as a faint longitudinal line near latero-ventral junction and tends to disappear in the posterior part of body. Anal scale is divided and subcaudals are paired.

此陸棲日行性蛇類，喜歡棲息在水源充足的低地平原或是丘陵地帶。牠以捕食蟾蜍、青蛙還有魚維生，偶爾也會捕捉蚯蚓和壁虎。母蛇魚春末產下每窩 4 -16 枚的卵，每顆卵長約 2.5cm 寬約 1cm 。花浪蛇有著溫和的性格，並且通常不會有攻擊的傾向或螫咬的行為： "此種蛇類最著名的就是牠的無害，各種牠不同的俗名都表達出牠是一種友善的蛇類。甚至民間傳說花浪蛇是土地公的兒子，因而有[土地公蛇]的俗稱，告誡大家不能打死牠。通常牠是在日間出沒的，假如有大量的食物可以捕捉，也會在夜間出來捕食。經常出沒在水塘邊蛙類隱匿的地方，可是很少會進入水中。當遇到人類時會飛快的鑽進附近的草叢躲藏，被捕捉時就算刻意激怒牠通常也不會有反擊的行為。" (Source)

花浪蛇、土地公蛇、草花蛇、草游蛇、黃帶水蛇、草腹鏈蛇。