H. hardwickii has the following characteristics. • Body short, stout, neck region not less than half as thick as midbody; • Head large; •
Dorsal scales squarish or hexagonal, juxtaposed, outer 3–4 rows larger than others, scale rows: males 23–31 around neck, females 27–35, around midbody, males 25–27, females 33–41; •
Ventrals small, usually distinct anteriorly, not so posteriorly; in males 114–186, in females 141–230; • Head shields entire,
parietals occasionally divided; • Nostrils superior,
nasals in contact with one another; •
Prefrontal usually in contact with second upper
labial; • 7–8 upper labials, 3–4 bordering eye; 1
preocular and 1–2 postoculars; 2, rarely 3, anterior
temporals; • Greenish or yellow-olive above, whitish below; 35-50 olive to dark gray dorsal bars, tapering to a point laterally, occasionally encircling body; a narrow dark ventral stripe or broad irregular band occasionally present; • Adults often lack any pattern and are uniform olive to dark gray; • Head pale olive to black, yellow markings on snout present or not. • Total length , tail length . ==Geographic range==