| Castoe's coral snake | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Calliophis |
| Species: | C. castoe |
| Binomial name | |
| Calliophis castoe Smith et al., 2012 [1] | |
Calliophis castoe, or Castoe's coral snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. [2] The species is endemic to Western Ghats in western peninsular India. [1]
Castoe's coral snake is found in semi-evergreen and wet forests in the central part of Western Ghats across Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. [1] Despite its occurrence in lowland and mountainous parts of relatively well-populated areas, it was described only in 2009. Earlier collectors such as Phipson and Wall had collected dark specimens of C. nigrescens from locations that record this species, which have now been identified as C. castoe. [1] In 1887, in a paper describing 10 venomous snakes of the (then) Bombay Presidency, Phipson describes a specimen of what he considered to be Calliophis nigrescens collected by Vidal in Carwar (now Karwar in Uttara Kannada) and deposited in the Bombay Natural History Society. Phipson describes the snake as having black upper parts and uniformly red under-parts, possibly based on notes sent in a telegram by Vidal. [3] Later on Vidal describes the same specimen in a paper on venomous snakes of North Kanara as C. nigrescens. [4]
Adult males measure 536–540 mm (21.1–21.3 in) in total length. The snake is unique from other coral snakes in the region because it lacks a pattern on its vinaceous-brown dorsum, and it has a white lower lip with a salmon color to flame scarlet ventral and lateral areas. [1] [2]
Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be subdivided into two distinct groups, Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 16 species of Old World coral snakes in three genera, and over 65 recognized species of New World coral snakes in two genera. Genetic studies have found that the most basal lineages are Asian, indicating that the group originated in the Old World.
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Beddome's coral snake is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to hills of peninsular India.
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Herbert Musgrave Phipson, was a British wine merchant and naturalist who lived in Bombay, India, from 1878 to 1905. As the honorary secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society, editor of its Journal, and manager of the Society's business and outreach activities, he played an important role in establishing the journal's reputation as the foremost natural history journal in Asia; he also influenced public science policy in the Bombay Presidency. His efforts saw fruition in the establishment of the Natural Sciences section of the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. Phipson, who was married to the pioneering physician Edith Pechey-Phipson, co-founded, with his wife, the Pechey Phipson Sanitarium for Women and Children in Nasik, India.
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George William Vidal was a British lawyer who worked in the Indian Civil Services in the Bombay Presidency and contributed to natural history studies from the Konkan region, and was involved in popularizing the modern form of badminton in India and in establishing the formal rules of the game. He observed and collected bird and snake specimens and collaborated with other naturalists in the region. A couple of bird subspecies are named after him.