Uropeltis smithi

Uropeltis smithi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Uropeltidae
Genus: Uropeltis
Species: U. smithi
Binomial name
Uropeltis smithi
Gans, 1966
Synonyms
  • (non Uropeltis grandis Kelaart, 1853)
  • Rhinophis grandis Beddome, 1867
  • Silybura grandis - Beddome, 1886
  • Silybura grandis - Boulenger, 1893
  • Uropeltis grandis
    - M.A. Smith, 1943
  • Uropeltis smithi Gans, 1966 (nomen novum)[2]

Uropeltis smithi, commonly known as Smith's earth snake or the violet shieldtail, is a species of nonvenomous shieldtail snake. It is endemic to India.

Geographic range

It is found mainly in the Anamallay forests of southern India, in moist woods at around 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

Taxonomy

This snake had been classified in the past as Rhinophis grandis Beddome, Silybura grandis (Beddome), and Uropeltis grandis (Beddome).[3] In 1966 Carl Gans renamed this species Uropeltis smithi in honor of Malcolm Arthur Smith. This new name (nomen novum) was created to prevent confusion with a different species of snake, Uropeltis grandis Kelaart, which is a synonym of Pseudotyphlops philippinus.

Description

Smith's earth snake, like all shieldtail snakes, has a characteristic pointed head and flattened tail.[4]

Dorsum dark violet. Ventrum dark violet with alternating large yellow spots or crossbands.

Adults may attain 48 cm (18 7⁄8 in) in total length.

Smooth dorsal scales arranged in 19 rows at midbody (in 21 rows behind the head). Ventrals 198-218; subcaudals 6-12.

Snout pointed. Rostral ⅓ or ¼ the length of the shielded part of the head. The portion of the rostral visible from above longer than its distance from the frontal. Nasals either in contact with each other behind the rostral, or separated from each other by the rostral. Frontal longer than broad. Eye very small, its diameter less than ½ the length of the ocular shield. Diameter of body 30 to 40 times in the total length. Ventrals about two times as large as the contiguous scales, pluricarinate posteriorly in males. Tail round or slightly laterally compressed, dorsal scales of the tail strongly pluricarinate. The terminal scute with two small spines.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Ganesan, S.R. & Vijayakumar, S.P. (2013). "Uropeltis smithi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  2. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ↑ "Uropeltis smithi BEDDOME 1867". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  4. ↑ "Shieldtail Snakes (Uropeltidae)". Answers. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  5. ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Uropeltidæ... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. p. 148.

Further reading

  • Beddome, R.H. 1867. Descriptions and figures of Five New Snakes from the Madras Presidency. Madras Quart. J. Med. Sci., 11: 14-16. [Reprint: J. Soc. Bibliogr. Nat. Sci., London, 1 (10): 315- 317, 1940.]
  • Beddome, R.H. 1886. An Account of the Earth-Snakes of the Peninsula of India and Ceylon. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5) 17: 3-33.
  • Gans, Carl 1966. Liste der rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien. Uropeltidae. Das Tierreich 84: 1-29.
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