| Uropeltis beddomii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Uropeltidae |
| Genus: | Uropeltis |
| Species: | U. beddomii |
| Binomial name | |
| Uropeltis beddomii (Günther, 1862) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Uropeltis beddomii, commonly known as Beddome's earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
U. beddomi is named after Richard Henry Beddome (1830–1911), British army officer and botanist. [3]
U. beddomii is found in southern India (Anaimalai Hills). The type locality is "Anamallay Hills".
The dorsum of U. beddomii is brown, with a yellow streak on each side of the neck. A yellow crossband is at the base of the tail, but not on the sides of the tail. The ventrum is brown mixed with yellow.
The longest specimen in the type series collected by Col. Beddome is a female 27.5 cm (10+3⁄4 in) in total length (including tail).
Dorsal scales are in 19 rows behind the head, and in 17 rows at midbody. Ventrals number 180-188; subcaudals number six or seven (females).
The snout is acutely pointed, strongly projecting. The rostral is strongly compressed, keeled above, the portion visible from above two fifths the length of the shielded part of the head. The nasals are in contact with each other behind the rostral. The frontal is longer than broad. The eye is very small, less than ½ the length of the ocular. The diameter of body goes 33 to 44 times in the total length. The ventrals are less than twice as large as the contiguous dorsal scales. The end of the tail is subtruncate, convex, or somewhat flattened dorsally, the scales with 3 to 5 strong keels. The terminal scute has a transverse ridge and two points. [4]
U. beddomii is viviparous. [2]
The Nilgiri keelback, also known commonly as Beddome's keelback, is a species of snake found in the Western Ghats in India. The species is named after Richard Henry Beddome, 1830–1911, British army officer and naturalist. It was first discovered near the Nilgiris but is now known more widely from the Western Ghats. This snake is terrestrial and feeds on toads.
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 nonvenomous shield tail snake species endemic to southern India. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Smith's earth snake, also known commonly as the violet shieldtail, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
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.
Uropeltis shorttii, also known as the Shevaroy Hills earth snake or Shortt's shieldtail snake, is a species of non-venomous snake endemic to the Southern Eastern Ghats of India. This species was first described as Silybura shorttii by Richard Henry Beddome, in 1863. It is found only in the Shevaroy Hills of Salem district in Tamil Nadu state in South India. This species was misclassified into Uropeltis ceylanica, a snake endemic to the Western Ghats, for a long time, till a recent taxonomic study proved it to be a distinct species with a very narrow geographic range. It is a burrowing snake, presumed to be nocturnal; feeding on soft-bodied worms. Becomes active during the rains. Shevaroy HilIs Earth Snake has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2019. Uropeltis shorttii is listed as Critically Endangered under criteria B1ab(iii).
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.
