| Uropeltis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cuvier's shield-tail snake ( U. ceylanica ) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Uropeltidae |
| Genus: | Uropeltis Cuvier, 1829 |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Uropeltis is a genus of nonvenomous shield-tail snakes endemic to Peninsular India. As of 2022, 26 species are recognized as being valid. [2]
Most Uropeltis species are found in the hills of Peninsular India, mainly in the southwestern parts of the country, including the Western Ghats and, to some extent, also in the Eastern Ghats and in the hills of Central India. [1]
Species in the genus Uropeltis share the following characters. The eye is in the ocular shield. There are no supraoculars nor temporals. There is no mental groove. The tail is conical or obliquely truncated, terminating in a small scute, the end of which is square, or bicuspid with the points side by side. [3]
| Species [2] [4] | Taxon author [2] [4] | Common name | Geographic range [1] [4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| U. arcticeps | (Günther, 1875) | Tinevelly shield-tail snake | the Tirunelveli Hills |
| U. beddomii | (Günther, 1862) | Beddome's shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. bhupathyi | Jins, Sampaio & Gower, 2018 | Bhupathy's shield-tail snake | Tamil Nadu |
| U. bicatenata | (Günther, 1875) | two-chained shield-tail snake | the Pune Hills |
| U. broughami | (Beddome, 1878) | Brougham's shield-tail snake | the Palni Hills |
| U. ceylanica T | Cuvier, 1829 | Cuvier's shield-tail snake | the Western Ghats south of Goa |
| U. dindigalensis | (Beddome, 1877) | Dindigul shield-tail snake | the Sirumalai Hills |
| U. ellioti | (Gray, 1858) | Elliot's shield-tail snake | the hills of Peninsular India |
| U. grandis | (Beddome, 1867) | Smith's earth snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. jerdoni | Ganesh, Punith, Adhikari & Achyuthan, 2021 | Jerdon’s shield-tail snake | India (Karnataka) |
| U. liura | (Günther, 1875) | Günther's shield-tail snake | the southern Western Ghats |
| U. macrolepis | (W. Peters, 1862) | Bombay shield-tail snake | the northern Western Ghats |
| U. macrorhyncha | (Beddome, 1877) | Ponachi shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. maculata | (Beddome, 1878) | spotted shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. madurensis | (Beddome, 1878) | Madura earth snake | Meghamalai |
| U. myhendrae | (Beddome, 1886) | barred shield-tail snake | the Agasthyamalai Hills |
| U. nitida | (Beddome, 1878) | Cochin shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliyampathi |
| U. ocellata | (Beddome, 1863) | Nilgiri shield-tail snake | the Western Ghats south of Nilgiris |
| U. petersi | (Beddome, 1878) | Peters' shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. phipsonii | (Mason, 1888) | Phipson's shield-tail snake | the northern Western Ghats |
| U. pulneyensis | (Beddome, 1863) | Palni shield-tail snake | the southern Western Ghats |
| U. rajendrani | Ganesh & Achyuthan, 2020 | Rajendran's shield-tail snake | the southern Eastern Ghats |
| U. rubrolineata | (Günther, 1875) | red-lined shield-tail snake | the southern Western Ghats |
| U. rubromaculata | (Beddome, 1867) | red-spotted shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. shorttii | (Beddome, 1863) | Shevaroy Hills earth snake | Yercaud |
| U. woodmasoni | (W. Theobald, 1876) | Palni shield-tail snake, black-bellied shield tail snake | the Palni Hills |
T Type species. [1]
Nota bene : A taxon author in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Uropeltis.
Uropeltis beddomii, commonly known as Beddome's earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
Uropeltis broughami, commonly known as Brougham's earth snake or the Sirumalai shieldtail, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats in southern India.
Uropeltis ceylanica is a species of nonvenomous shieldtail snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. No subspecies are currently recognized as being valid, but the presence of several synonyms, many recently resurrected, calls for further taxonomic studies of this species complex. It is a burrowing snake with a pointy head equipped to penetrate the soil. It has a thick tail which looks as if it has been cut at an angle. In Kerala it's called iru thala moori, which means two headed organism, as the tail end looks like another head. It primarily eats earth worms.
Uropeltis dindigalensis, commonly known as the Dindigul uropeltis and the Sirumalai Hills earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to Sirumalai and surrounding hill ranges of the southern Eastern Ghats, in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu state in South India.
Uropeltis ellioti, commonly known as Elliot's earth snake and Elliot's shieldtail, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
Uropeltis liura, commonly known as the Ashambu shieldtail and Günther's earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
Uropeltis macrolepis, commonly known as the Bombay earth snake, the Bombay shieldtail, and the large-scaled shieldtail, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to southern India. There are two recognized subspecies.
Uropeltis macrorhyncha is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Uropeltis maculata, also known commonly as the spotted earth snake and the spotted shieldtail, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to southern India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Uropeltis myhendrae, commonly known as Boulenger's earth snake, the Mahendragiri earth snake, and the Myhendra Mountain uropeltis, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
Uropeltis nitida is a species of nonvenomous shieldtail snake. The species is endemic to southern India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Uropeltis ocellata is a species of non-venomous shieldtail snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is indigenous to southern India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Uropeltis petersi, commonly known as Peter's earth snake, Peters' shieldtail, and the shieldtail earth snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
Uropeltis phipsonii, commonly known as Phipson's earth snake and Phipson's shieldtail, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
Uropeltis pulneyensis, commonly known as the Indian earth snake and the Palni shieldtail, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
Uropeltis rubrolineata is a species of nonvenomous shieldtail snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to southern India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Uropeltis rubromaculata is a species of nonvenomous shieldtail snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to southern India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Uropeltis woodmasoni, commonly known as Wood-Mason's earth snake or Woodmason's earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
Rhinophis blythii, or Blyth's earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to the rain forests and grasslands of Sri Lanka.
Uropeltis madurensis, also known commonly as the Madura earth snake and the Madurai shieldtail, is an endangered species of small, fossorial, nonvenomous snake of the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of South India.
