Proahaetulla

Last updated

Keeled vine snake
Temporal range: Oligocene-Holocene, 26.57–0  Ma [1]
ProahaetullaAntiqua.png
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: Proahaetulla
Mallik, Achyuthan, Ganesh, Pal, Vijayakumar & Shanker, 2019
Species:
P. antiqua
Binomial name
Proahaetulla antiqua
Mallik, Achyuthan, Ganesh, Pal, Vijayakumar & Shanker, 2019

Proahaetulla is a monotypic genus of vine snake in the family Colubridae. It contains only one species, the keeled vine snake (Proahaetulla antiqua), which is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Its natural habitat is montane rainforests of southern Western Ghats. [1]

Contents

Discovery

The species was first discovered in 2011, when an individual was found in the Agasthyamalai Hills of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It was initially thought to be a new species of Ahaetulla , as it looked very similar to the species Ahaetulla dispar . [2] However, genetic analyses found it to be deeply divergent from any member in the genus Ahaetulla, so it was classified in its own genus. Both the genus and species were ultimately described in 2019. [1]

Etymology

The genus name Proahaetulla indicates the early divergence from Ahaetulla . The species name antiqua is Latin for "antique" or "old", referencing the relatively old evolutionary divergence of the taxon. [1]

Taxonomy

Proahaetulla is considered to be the sister taxon to the genus Ahaetulla , which it diverged from an estimated 26.57 million years ago, during the mid-Oligocene. [1] Due to its age, Proahaetulla may be one of the oldest monotypic lineages of snakes to still persist in the Western Ghats. Proahaetulla is also the first deeply divergent snake genus to be described from the Western Ghats in over a century; numerous Indian snake species have had new genera created to reclassify them from the genera they were originally classified in, but Proahaetulla is completely new, possibly having never been encountered by science prior to its description as a new genus and species. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Proahaetulla belongs to the vine snake subfamily Ahaetuliinae, and its relationships to many of the other species within Ahaetuliinae can be shown in the cladogram below, with possibly paraphyletic species noted: [1]

Ahaetuliinae
sharp‑nosed snakes
broad‑nosed snakes

Description

Proahaetulla antiqua is bright green, with a lighter green or creamish yellow belly, and a creamish yellow ventral stripe. The holotype had a total body length of 111.3 cm (43.8 in), with a very slender and partially laterally compressed body. It has a fine-pointed snout and near-binocular vision, with horizontally elliptical pupils in its eyes. It is very similar in appearance to Ahaetulla dispar . [1]

Distribution and habitat

It is a diurnal and arboreal species found in the high elevation rainforests of the far south of the Western Ghats. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lymantriinae</span> Subfamily of moths

The Lymantriinae are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893.

<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

Günther's whipsnake, Burmese vine snake or river vine snake is a species of fish-eating vine snake found in Southeast Asia.

<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>Ahaetulla prasina</i> Species of snake

Ahaetulla prasina is an arboreal, moderately venomous species of opisthoglyphous snake in the family Colubridae to 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 tree snake endemic to Sri Lanka. Populations in the Western Ghats of India are now considered a separate species, Ahaetulla sahyadrensis. It is known as හෙනකදයා (henakadaya) in Sinhala; this name provided the name anaconda.

<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>Wallaceophis</i> Genus of snakes

Wallaceophis is a genus of snake in the family Colubriadae. It was first described in 2016. The sole species is Wallaceophis gujaratensis which is found in the Indian state of Gujarat. Wallaceophis gujaratenisis is presently known from just seven localities of Gujarat and virtually nothing is known about its biology. Common names Wallace's striped snake and Wallace's racer has been suggested for it.

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

The variable colored vine snake is a species of opisthoglyphous snake in the family Colubridae. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahaetuliinae</span> Subfamily of snakes

The Ahaetuliinae are a subfamily of vine snakes within the family Colubridae that was erected in 2016. They are found from South and Southeast Asia through to Australia.

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

Ahaetulla laudankia, known as the Laudankia vine snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is endemic to India and while being a rare species, it has a relatively large range, extending from the Eastern Ghats through Central India west to eastern Rajasthan. Its name derives from the Odia term laudanka, which translates to "dried stems of bottle gourd, as the snake closely resembles them with its thin body and brownish color.

<i>Walkerana</i> Genus of frogs

Walkerana is a genus of frogs in the family Ranixalidae. The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. It was erected in 2016 to host three species of Indirana that represented a genetically and morphologically distinct clade within the then broadly defined Indirana. Until Walkerana muduga was described in 2020, the genus was only known from the southernmost part of the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap.

<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 malabarica</i> Species of tree snake

The Malabar vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern portion of 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 5 6 7 8 9 Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Achyuthan, N. Srikanthan; Ganesh, Sumaithangi R.; Pal, Saunak P.; Vijayakumar, S. P.; Shanker, Kartik (27 July 2019). "Discovery of a deeply divergent new lineage of vine snake (Colubridae: Ahaetuliinae: Proahaetulla gen. nov.) from the southern Western Ghats of Peninsular India with a revised key for Ahaetuliinae". PLOS ONE . 14 (7): e0218851. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1418851M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218851 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   6636718 . PMID   31314800.
  2. 1 2 "Researchers discover a new species of vine snake from the Western Ghats that dates back 26 million years". Research Matters. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "India adds a new snake to the list". Cosmos Magazine. August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Choudhary, Srishti (29 July 2019). "Indian researchers discover a new species of vine snakes in Western Ghats". www.livemint.com. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.