Ahaetulla malabarica

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Malabar vine snake
Ahaetulla nasuta at tadyandermol.JPG
At Tadiandamol, Karnataka
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Ahaetuliinae
Genus: Ahaetulla
Species:
A. malabarica
Binomial name
Ahaetulla malabarica
Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, Princia D'Souza, Shanker, and Ganesh, 2020

The Malabar vine snake (Ahaetulla malabarica), is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern portion of the central Western Ghats of India. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered conspecific with A. nasuta , which is now considered to only be endemic to Sri Lanka. A 2020 study found A. nasuta to be a species complex of A. nasuta sensu stricto as well as A. borealis , A. farnsworthi , A. isabellina , and A. malabarica. [1]

Geographic range

This species is distributed in the southern portion of the central Western Ghats, from the Palghat Gap in Tamil Nadu and Kerala north to Tadiandamol in Karnataka. A. farnsworthi is found to the north of the species' range and may be sympatric with it at Coorg (although largely separated by rivers), while A. isabellina is found to the south of the species' range, being separated from it by the Palghat Gap. [1]

Habitat

The species is found in mid-elevation evergreen forests in the Western Ghats from ~650 to 1400 msl. [1]

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<i>Ahaetulla nasuta</i> Species of venomous, snake

Ahaetulla nasuta, also known as Sri Lankan green vine snake and long-nosed whip snake, is a venomous, slender green tree snake endemic to Sri Lanka.

<i>Ahaetulla dispar</i> Species of reptile

Ahaetulla dispar, the Gunther's vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the Western Ghats. 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.

<i>Ahaetulla fronticincta</i> Species of snake

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<i>Ahaetulla perroteti</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla perroteti, known commonly as the bronze-headed vine snake, Perrotet's vine snake, or the Western Ghats bronzeback, is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats in South India.

<i>Craspedocephalus malabaricus</i> Species of snake

Craspedocephalusmalabaricus, commonly known as Malabar pit viper, Malabar rock pit viper, or rock viper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to the high-moderate elevations of Western Ghats of southwestern India. Recently this species complex was split into three different species, Craspedocephalus malabaricus, Craspedocephalus travancoricus, Craspedocephalus anamallensis.

<i>Ahaetulla prasina</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla prasina is an arboreal, moderately venomous species of opisthoglyphous vine snake in the family Colubridae, found in Southern and Southeast Asia. Its common names include the Asian vine snake, Boie's whip snake, Gunther's whip snake, and the Oriental whip snake.

<i>Ahaetulla pulverulenta</i> Species of snake

Brown-speckled whipsnake or brown vine snake is a species of colubrid vine snake endemic to Sri Lanka.

<i>Rhabdops olivaceus</i> Species of snake

Rhabdops olivaceus, the olive trapezoid snake or olive forest snake, is a snake endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Following the description of populations in Goa, northernmost Karnataka, and southern Maharashtra as a new species, Rhabdops aquaticus, the known range of Rhabdops olivaceus is from Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Kerala north to Kottigehara in Karnataka, and possibly slightly further.

<i>Ahaetulla</i> Genus of snakes

Ahaetulla, commonly referred to as Asian vine snakes or Asian whip snakes, is a genus of colubrid snakes distributed throughout tropical Asia. They are considered by some scientists to be mildly venomous and are what is commonly termed as 'rear-fanged' or more appropriately, opisthoglyphous, meaning their enlarged teeth or fangs, intended to aid in venom delivery, are located in the back of the upper jaw, instead of in the front as they are in vipers or cobras. As colubrids, Ahaetulla do not possess a true venom gland or a sophisticated venom delivery system. The Duvernoy's gland of this genus, homologous to the venom gland of true venomous snakes, produces a secretion which, though not well studied, is considered not to be medically significant to humans.

<i>Ahaetulla mycterizans</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla mycterizans, the Malayan green whipsnake or Malayan vine snake, is a slender arboreal colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.

<i>Ahaetulla fasciolata</i> Species of snake

The speckle-headed whipsnake is a species of colubrid vine snake found in Southeast Asia.

<i>Ahaetulla anomala</i> Species of snake

The variable colored vine snake is a species of opisthoglyphous colubrid vine snake found in Bangladesh and India. It is the first reported sexually dichromatic snake from the Indian Subcontinent, and until 2017 was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the green vine snake, Ahaetulla nasuta.

<i>Proahaetulla</i> Genus of snakes

Proahaetulla is a monotypic genus of vine snake in the family Colubridae. It contains only one species, the keeled vine snake, which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Its natural habitat is montane rainforests of southern Western Ghats.

<i>Ahaetulla borealis</i> Species of tree snake

The northern Western Ghats vine snake is a species of tree snake endemic to the northern Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla farnsworthi</i> Species of tree snake

Farnsworth's vine snake is a species of tree snake endemic to the central Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla isabellina</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla isabellina, also known as Wall's vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla travancorica</i> Species of Reptilia

The Travancore vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India.

<i>Ahaetulla oxyrhyncha</i> Species of snake

The Indian vine snake or long-nosed vine snake is a species of diurnal, mildly venomous, arboreal snake distributed in the lowlands of peninsular India.Often mistakenly believed to peck out peoples' eyes, this misconception has led to widespread wanton killing of this species.

<i>Ahaetulla sahyadrensis</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla sahyadrensis is a species of tree snake endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is also reported from Bangladesh.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Srikanthan, Achyuthan N.; Pal, Saunak P.; D’souza, Princia Margaret; Shanker, Kartik; Ganesh, Sumaithangi Rajagopalan (6 November 2020). "Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla ) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India". Zootaxa. 4874 (1): zootaxa.4874.1.1. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4874.1.1. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   33311335. S2CID   228823754.
  2. Staff Reporter (14 November 2020). "New species of vine snakes discovered". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  3. "The discovery of five new species of vine snakes in India". phys.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.