Rhinophis fergusonianus

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Rhinophis fergusonianus
Rhinophis fergusonianus Boulenger 1896.jpg
Illustration from the original species description published in 1896 by George Albert Boulenger
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Uropeltidae
Genus: Rhinophis
Species:
R. fergusonianus
Binomial name
Rhinophis fergusonianus
Boulenger, 1896 [2]

Rhinophis fergusonianus, commonly known as the Cardamom Hills earth snake, is a species of uropeltid snake endemic to the Western Ghats, India. [3] [1]

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, fergusonianus, is in honor of Scottish zoologist Harold S. Ferguson. [4]

Geographic range

R. fergusonianus is only known from the type specimen collected in the Cardamom Hills in Travancore, a part of the southern Western Ghats in modern Kerala, southeastern India. [3] [1]

Description

The holotype of R. fergusonianus measures 32 cm (13 in) in total length (including tail), 40 times its width. The eyes are very small. The snout is acutely pointed. The body is longitudinally striated. It is blackish above, and the sides are white, dotted and spotted with black. The belly is white, with black dots and two series of large black spots, partially confluent into a zigzag band. The caudal disc is black and edged all round with yellow. [2]

Reproduction

R. fergusonianus is viviparous. [3]

Habitat and conservation

The habitats and ecology of this species, R. fergusonianus, and threats to it, are unknown. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Srinivasulu, B.; Srinivasulu, C.; Vijayakumar, S.P.; Ganesan, S.R. (2013). "Rhinophis fergusonianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T178234A1528417. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T178234A1528417.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Boulenger GA (1896). "Description of a new earth snake from Travancore (Rhinophis fergusonianus)". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 10: 236. (+1 plate)
  3. 1 2 3 Rhinophis fergusonianus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 January 2017.
  4. 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. (Rhinophis fergusonianus, p. 89).

Further reading