It is primarily restricted to the Shola forests of the Southern Western Ghats where it is found often on high-elevation montane grasslands and the low shrub belts.

Internasals and prefrontals usually in contact with the labials; one or two small loreals; frontal as long as its distance from the end of the snout or longer, as long as the parietals; one preocular, in contact with the frontal, with one or two suboculara below; twopostoculars; temporals 2+2 or 2+3; upper labials 8, fifth entering the eye; 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are as long as the posterior or a little shorter.

It is endemic to Southern Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states of South India, from the Anaimalai Hills to the region north of the Shencottah Gap.

Populations south of the Shencottah Gap, in regions such as the Agasthyamalai Hills, are now considered to belong to a separate species, A. travancorica.

[3] It is a diurnal, semi arboreal and sometimes terrestrial snake, often found in low bushes or rocks and high elevation forests and grasslands of the Western Ghats.