| Uropeltis myhendrae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Uropeltidae |
| Genus: | Uropeltis |
| Species: | U. myhendrae |
| Binomial name | |
| Uropeltis myhendrae | |
| Synonyms [3] [4] | |
| |
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.
U. myhendrae is found in southern India, in the Western Ghats south of the Goa Gap, in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Travancore, at elevations of 2,000–4,000 ft (610–1,220 m). [4]
Type locality: "South Travancore, on the Myhendra Mountain", southern India. [4]
The preferred natural habitat of U. myhendrae is forest. [1]
The dorsum of U. myhendrae is dark purplish brown, each scale with a yellowish crescent-shaped posterior border. There are three or four dark transverse blotches behind the head. The venter is yellowish, with small purplish brown spots in adults, but with large transverse blackish rhomboids in young.
Adults may attain 33.5 cm (13+1⁄4 in) in total length (including tail).
The dorsal scales are in 17 rows at midbody, in 19 rows behind the head. The ventrals number 139-153, and the subcaudals number 7-8.
The snout is obtuse. The rostral is ¼ to almost ⅓ the length of the shielded part of the head. The portion of the rostral visible from above is slightly longer than its distance from the frontal. The nasals are narrowly in contact with each other behind the rostral. The frontal is slightly longer than broad. The diameter of the eye is somewhat more than ½ the length of the ocular shield. The diameter of the body goes 25 to 32 times into the total length. The ventrals are two times as wide as the contiguous scales. The tail is obliquely truncate, flat dorsally, with strongly bicarinate or strongly tricarinate dorsal scales. The terminal scute has a transverse ridge, indistinctly bicuspid, rounded in the young. [3]
U. myhendrae is terrestrial and fossorial. [1]
U. myhendrae is ovoviviparous. [4]
Platyplectrurus trilineatus, commonly known as the Tri-striped shieldtail snake or the lined thorntail snake, is a species of uropeltid snake endemic to the Western Ghats of Southern India. Like most other shieldtail snakes, it is presumed to be a nocturnal, fossorial snake inhabiting evergreen forests. A very rare snake, about which nothing is known in terms of live colouration and natural history.
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 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.
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 commonly as the Shevaroy Hills earth snake and Shortt's shieldtail snake, is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats of India. This species was first described as Silybura shorttii by British naturalist Richard Henry Beddome in 1863. It is found only in the Shevaroy Hills of Salem district in Tamil Nadu state in South India. For a long time, this species was misclassified into Uropeltis ceylanica, a snake endemic to the Western Ghats, 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. It becomes active during the rains. U. shorttii has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2019, and is listed as "Critically Endangered" under criteria B1ab(iii).
