The specific name, macclellandi, is in honor of John McClelland, a physician and naturalist, who worked for the East India Company.

[3] S. macclellandi is a small snake, about 40–80 centimetres (16–31 in) in total length (including tail), and has a thin body.

S. macclellandi is found in northern and northeastern India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, northern Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, central and southern China (including Hong Kong, Hainan, north to Gansu and Shaanxi), Taiwan, and Ryukyu Islands (Japan).

Bite symptoms include numbness of lips and difficulty of speech and breathing, followed by blurred vision.

Severe bite victims may die of instant heart failure, although there have been only a few human deaths recorded in Thailand.