Plectrurus perrotetii

Plectrurus perotteti
	Nilgiri burrowing snake or Perrotet's shield-tail snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Uropeltidae
Genus:	Plectrurus
Species:	P. perroteti
Binomial name
	Plectrurus perroteti; A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
Synonyms
	Plectrurus perroteti [sic] ; A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron ; & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854; Plectrurus perrotetii [sic] ; — McDiarmid, Campbell ; & Touré, 1999; Plectrurus perrotetii [sic] ; — Wallach et al., 2014;

Last updated September 07, 2025

Plectrurus perroteti, commonly known as the Nilgiri burrowing snake or Perrotet's shield-tail snake,^[1] is a species of harmless snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.

Etymology

The specific name, perrotetii or perroteti, is in honour of French naturalist George Samuel Perrottet (1793–1867).^[2]

Geographic range

P. perroteti is found in the Western Ghats and hills of southern India.

Description

P. perroteti is a small snake, growing to a maximum of 44 cm (17+1⁄4 in) in total length (including tail). The head is pointed, and the tail is blunt. It has smooth, glossy scales and is brown in colour.

Biology

Like the common worm snake ( Ramphotyphlops braminus ), Plectrurus perroteti is also often mistaken for earthworms, upon which it feeds. It is considered an endangered species, and little else is known about this snake.

References

1 2 Species Plectrurus perroteti at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Plectrurus perroteti, p. 203).

Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ...Uropeltidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Plectrurus perroteti, p. 161).
Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A[-H-A] (1854). Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième.—Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles. Volume 7, Part I. Containing the Natural History of the Nonvenomous Snakes]. Paris: Roret. xvi + 780 pp. (Plectrurus perroteti, new species, pp. 167–168). (in French).
Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Plectrurus perroteti, p. 71).

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[RDB-1] 1 2 Species Plectrurus perroteti at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org

[2] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Plectrurus perroteti, p. 203).

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