''Calliophis castoe'', or Castoe's coral 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), ...

venomous snake ''Venomous snakes'' are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow ...

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 ...

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus '' Emydocephalus ...

. 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 Western Ghats in western peninsular

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Etymology

''C. castoe'' is named after biologist, Todd A. Castoe.

Geographic range

Castoe's coral snake is found in semi-evergreen and wet forests in the central part of Western Ghats across

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. Despite its occurrence in lowland and mountainous parts of relatively well-populated areas, it was described only in 2009. Earlier collectors such as Phipson and

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

had collected dark specimens of '' C. nigrescens'' from locations that record this species, which have now been identified as ''C. castoe''. In 1887, in a paper describing 10 venomous snakes of the (then) Bombay Presidency, Phipson describes a specimen of what he considered to be '' Calliophis nigrescens'' collected by

Vidal Vidal (, , , ) is a Catalan language, Catalan, Aragonese language, Aragonese, and possibly also Romansh language, Romansh surname, which also appears in French language, French, Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Engl ...

in Carwar (now Karwar in Uttara Kannada) and deposited in the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

. Phipson describes the snake as having black upper parts and uniformly red under-parts, possibly based on notes sent in a telegram by Vidal. Later on Vidal describes the same specimen in a paper on venomous snakes of

North Kanara Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to the ...

as ''C. nigrescens.''

Description

Adult males measure in total length. The snake is unique from other coral snakes in the region because it lacks a pattern on its vinaceous-brown dorsum, and it has a white lower lip with a salmon color to flame scarlet ventral and lateral areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2934213 castoe Snakes of India Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Reptiles described in 2012 Taxa named by Veerappan Deepak Taxa named by Varad B. Giri