[5] The specific name, prevostiana, is in honor of French naturalist and illustrator Florent Prévost.

[5] G. prevostiana feeds almost exclusively on crabs, which it tears into bite-sized pieces by pulling them through its coils, in contrast to most other snakes which swallow their prey whole.

The frontal is a little longer than broad, shorter than its distance from the end of the snout, or than the parietals.

[9] The body is uniform dark olive above, with three outer rows of scales whitish.

[9] G. prevostiana is found in coastal areas between western India (Mumbai) to eastern Philippines;[1] it occurs in India (including the Andaman Islands[10]) Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia (Borneo: Sarawak), and the Philippines (Luzon).

[1][3] The preferred natural habitat of G. prevostiana is coastal areas, especially those with mangrove forest.