Uropeltis nitida

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Uropeltis nitida
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Uropeltidae
Genus: Uropeltis
Species:
U. nitida
Binomial name
Uropeltis nitida
(Beddome, 1878)
Synonyms [2]
  • Silybura nitida
    Beddome, 1878
  • Silybura nitida
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Uropeltis nitidus
    — M.A. Smith, 1943
  • Uropeltis nitida
    — Das, 1996
Common names: southern earth snake, Cochin shieldtail.

Uropeltis nitida is a species of nonvenomous shieldtail snake (family Uropeltidae). The species is endemic to southern India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. [3]

Contents

Geographic range

U. nitida is found in southern India in the Western Ghats on the Cochin side of the Anaimalai Hills.

The type locality given in Beddome (1878) is "Anamallays, 4000 to 5000 ft" (1,200–1,500 m).

Beddome (1886) gives the type locality as "Anamallays, about the Nelliampady estates on the Cochin side, elevation 4000 to 5000 feet." [2]

Description

The dorsum of U. nitida is black. The venter is black with distant yellow crossbands, which are usually broken at the midline and alternating, but sometimes meet to form complete crossbands.

Adults may attain 35 cm (13+3⁄4 in) in total length (including tail).

The dorsal scales are smooth, and are arranged in 17 rows at midbody, in 19 rows behind the head. The ventrals number 184-195, and the subcaudals number 5-11.

The snout is obtusely pointed. The rostral is about ⅓ the length of the shielded part of the head. The portion of the rostral visible from above is longer than its distance from the frontal. The nasals are in contact with each other behind the rostral. The frontal is as long as broad or slightly longer than broad. The eye is small, its diameter less than ½ the length of the ocular shield. The diameter of body goes 30 to 35 times into the total length. The ventrals are two times as broad as the contiguous scales. The tail is round or slightly flattened dorsally, with the terminal dorsal scales strongly pluricarinate. The terminal scute has a transverse ridge and two points. [4]

Reproduction

U. nitida is ovoviviparous. [5]

Related Research Articles

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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.

<i>Uropeltis maculata</i> Species of snake found in India

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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.

<i>Uropeltis phipsonii</i> Species of snake

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<i>Uropeltis pulneyensis</i> Species of snake

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<i>Uropeltis rubromaculata</i> Species of snake

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<i>Uropeltis woodmasoni</i> Species of snake

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.

<i>Uropeltis shorttii</i> Species of snake

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).

<i>Uropeltis madurensis</i> Species of reptile

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.

References

  1. ↑ Srinivasulu, B.; Srinivasulu, C.; Ganesan, S.R.; Vijayakumar, S.P. (2018). "Uropeltis nitida (amended version of 2013 assessment)". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . IUCN. 2013: e.T172711A127978855. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172711A127978855.en . Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN   1-893777-00-6 (series), ISBN   1-893777-01-4 (volume). (Uropeltis nitida, p. 147).
  3. ↑ "Uropeltis nitida". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 2 September 2007.
  4. ↑ Boulenger, G.A. (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Uropeltidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Silybura nitida, pp. 151-152 + Plate VI, figures 3 [two views], 3a, 3b).
  5. ↑ "Uropeltis nitida". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading


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