:''Common names: shield-tail snakes, shield-tailed snakes, earth snakes.''
''Uropeltis'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of nonvenomous
shield-tail snakes
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
Peninsular 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 In ...
. As of 2022, 26
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), ...
are recognized as being valid.
Geographic range
Most ''Uropeltis'' species are found in the hills of Peninsular India, mainly in the southwestern parts of the country, including the
Western Ghats and, to some extent, also in the
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...
and in the hills of
Central India
Central India refers to a geographical region of India that generally includes the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The Central Zonal Council, established by the Government of India, includes these states as well as Uttar Prades ...
.
Description
Species in the genus ''Uropeltis'' share the following characters. The eye is in the ocular shield. There are no
supraoculars
In scaled reptiles, supraocular scales are (enlarged) scales on the crown immediately above the eye.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ...
nor
temporals. There is no
mental groove. The tail is conical or obliquely truncated, terminating in a small scute, the end of which is square, or bicuspid with the points side by side.
[ Boulenger GA (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. (Genus ''Silybura'', p. 144).]
Species
T Type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
.
''
Nota bene
( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''.
In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...
'': A taxon author in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Uropeltis''.
References
Further reading
*
Boulenger GA (1890). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Genus ''Silybura'', p. 257, Figure 81).
*
Cuvier (1829). ''Le Régne Animal Distribué, d'après son Organisation, pour servir de base à l'Histoire naturelle des Animaux et d'introduction à l'Anatomie Comparé. Nouvelle Edition, Revue et Augmentée''
econd edition ''Tome II''
olume 2 ''Les Reptiles''. Paris: Déterville. xv + 406 pp. (''Uropeltis'', new genus, pp. 76–77). (in French).
*
Das I (2002). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (Genus ''Uropeltis'', pp. 59–60).
*
Smith MA (1943). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Genus ''Uropeltis'', p. 73).
*
Wall F (1921). ''Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon.'' Colombo, Ceylon
ri Lanka Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, Government Printer). xxii + 581 pp. (Genus ''Uropeltis'', pp. 23–25, Figures 7-9).
*
Ganesh SR (2015). ''Shieldtail snakes (Reptilia: Uropeltidae)– the Darwin's finches of south Indian snake fauna?'' Manual on Identification and Preparation of Keys of Snakes with Special Reference to their Venomous Nature in India., Govt. Arts College, Ooty, 13-24.
*
Pyron RA, Ganesh SR,
Sayyed A,
Sharma V,
Wallach V,
Somaweera R (2016). "A catalogue and systematic overview of the shield-tailed snakes (Serpentes: Uropeltidae)". ''Zoosystema'' 38 (4): 453–506.
*
Rajendran MV (1985). "Studies on Uropeltid Snakes". Madurai: Publication Division, Madurai Kamaraj University. 132 pp.
*
Sharma RC (2003). ''Handbook: Indian Snakes''. Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India. 292 pp. .
*
Whitaker R,
Captain A
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
(2008). ''Snakes of India: The Field Guide''. Chennai: Draco Books. 495 pp. .
External links
*
Captain, Ashok (2003). Checklist of Indian Snakes with English Common Names
PDFat th
University of Texas at Austin Accessed 2 September 2007.
a
Systema Naturae 2000 Accessed 2 September 2007.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2706018
Uropeltidae
Taxa named by Georges Cuvier
Snake genera