''Aspidura ravanai'', commonly known as Ravana's rough-sided snake 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
colubrid
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. Colu ...
snake
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 Sri Lanka.
Taxonomy
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 ...
, ''ravanai'', is in honor of the Sri Lankan mythological King
Ravana
According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...
.
Distribution and habitat
''A. ravanai'' is known only from the western slopes
Sri Pada
Adam's Peak is a conical sacred mountain located in central Sri Lanka.Capper, Daniel (2022), ''Roaming Free Like a Deer: Buddhism and the Natural World,'' Cornell University Press. It is well known for the ''Sri Pada'' (; ), a rock format ...
sanctuary in the central highlands of Sri Lanka.
Description
''A. ravanai'' is a small snake similar to its sister lineage ''
A. trachyprocta''. The
dorsum is dark black in color. A yellowish line runs through the body in venter region.
References
Further reading
*Gans C, Fetcho JR. 1982. The Sri Lankan genus ''Aspidura'' (Serpentes, Reptilia, Colubridae). ''Annals of
Carnegie Museum'' 51 (14): 271–316. (''Aspidura deraniyagalae'', new species).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q47009055
ravanai
Reptiles described in 2017
Reptiles of Sri Lanka