''Ahaetulla perroteti'', known commonly as the bronze-headed vine snake, Perrotet's vine snake, or the Western Ghats bronzeback, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of mildly

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

, rear-fanged snake in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Western Ghats in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''perroteti'', is in honor of French

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

George Samuel Perrottet George Samuel Perrottet (23 February 1790 – 13 January 1870, Puducherry (city), Pondicherry), also known as Georges Guerrard-Samuel Perrottet, was a botanist and horticulturalist from Praz, in the commune of Vully-le-Bas, today Mont-Vully, Swit ...

(1793–1867).

Description

:''See

snake scales Snakes, like other reptiles, have skin covered in scales.Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India. p. 1 Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes, known as snakeskin as a whole. A scale protects ...

for terminology.'' ''A. perroteti'' has the following characters. The snout is obtusely pointed and projecting, without dermal appendage, not quite twice as long as the eye. There is no loreal; the internasals and prefrontals are in contact with the labials. The frontal is longer than its distance from the end of the snout, as long as the parietals. There is one preocular, in contact with the frontal, and one postocular. The temporals are arranged 1+2 or 2+2. There are 8 (rarely 9) upper labials, the fourth and fifth entering the eye. The 4 lower labials are in contact with the anterior chin shields, which are as long as the posterior chin shields. The dorsal scales are in 15 rows at midbody, and those on the sacral region are keeled. The ventrals number 138-140. The anal is divided, and the subcaudals number 70-82. Males are bright green above, yellowish or pale green beneath, with a green lateral line. Females are drab brownish grey with a yellowish venter. The total length (including tail) is . The tail is .

Distribution

''A. perroteti'' is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats, in

south India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. It occurs in high-elevation hills, above , of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

states. This species is known from the Upper Nilgiris, including

Mukurthi National Park Mukurthi National Park is a national park in the western Nilgiris mountains of Tamil Nadu in South India. It was created to protect its keystone species, the Nilgiri tahr. It is part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India's first International ...

, Silent Valley and Vellarimala or

Camel's Hump Camel's Hump (alternatively Camels Hump) is a mountain in the Green Mountains in the U.S. state of Vermont. The north slope of the mountain borders the Winooski River, which has carved through the Green Mountains over eons. At , it is tied wi ...

and Siruvani peak. Perhaps it has the smallest geographic range of all Indian '' Ahaetulla'' species.

Biology

''A. perroteti'' is a diurnal, terrestrial snake found actively moving about on open montane grassland above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

. It feeds mainly on

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s and

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s. It is seen basking in full sunlight. It rarely if ever ascends trees.

Reproduction

''A. perroteti'' is

viviparous In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...

Etymology

Description

Distribution

Biology

Reproduction

References

Further reading