:''Common names: Ceylon earth snake, Cuvier's shieldtail, Kerala shieldtail.''
''Uropeltis ceylanica'' 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 nonvenomous shieldtail 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 ...
Uropeltidae
The Uropeltidae, also Common name, commonly known as shield-tail snakes, shield-tailed snakes or earth snakes, are a Family (biology), family of primitive, nonvenomous, burrowing snakes native to Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The name is derive ...
. 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 of
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 ...
. No
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are currently recognized as being valid, but the presence of several synonyms, many recently resurrected, calls for further taxonomic studies of this species complex.
It is a burrowing snake with a pointy head equipped to penetrate the soil. It has a thick tail which looks as if it has been cut at an angle. In Kerala it's called ''iru thala moori'', which means two headed organism, as the tail end looks like another head. It primarily eats earth worms.
Geographic range
''U. ceylanica'' is found in the
Western Ghats of southern
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 ...
from
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 ...
,
Castle Rock
Castle Rock may refer to:
Geography Islands
* Castle Rock (Alaska), an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska
* Castle Rock, Hong Kong, an island of Hong Kong, part of the Po Toi Islands
* Castle Rock (Massachusetts), an island in th ...
southwards to
Travancore
The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...
(
Agasthyamalai
Agastya Mala (or Agasthyamalai or Agastyarkoodam) is one of the peaks of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats that lies between the districts of Tirunelveli District of Tamilnadu and Thiruvananthapuram District district o ...
) near
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...
. The
type locality given as "Ceylan"— is a mistake, since this species has never been found in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
Description
The
dorsum of ''U. ceylanica'' is brown or blackish brown; sometimes patterned with spots or streaks. The
venter Venter or Venters is an Afrikaans (and rarely, Jewish) surname, and may refer to:
Venter
* AJ Venter (b. 1973), South African rugby union footballer
* Al J Venter (b. 1938), author
* André Venter (b. 1970), South African rugby union footballer
* ...
is yellowish; some specimens have dark brown spots or are entirely brown. The ventral side of the tail is brown or black in the middle, and yellow on the sides.
Adults may attain a total length (including tail) of .
The
dorsal scales
In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...
are arranged in 17 rows at midbody (in 19 rows behind the head). The
ventrals
In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...
number 120-146; the
subcaudals
In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. (7t ...
number 8-12.
The snout is rounded. The
rostral
Rostral may refer to:
Anatomy
* Rostral (anatomical term), situated toward the oral or nasal region
* Rostral bone, in ceratopsian dinosaurs
* Rostral organ, of certain fish
* Rostral scale
The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other sca ...
is one-fourth the length of the shielded part of the head. Portions of the rostral are visible from above and shorter than its distance from the
frontal. Nasals are in contact with each other behind the rostral. The frontal is slightly longer than it is broad. The diameter of the eyes is more than half the length of the
ocular shield. The total length of the snake is 21 to 29 times the diameter of the body. The ventrals are twice as large as the contiguous scales. The end of tail is flat dorsally, obliquely truncated, with strongly
keeled scales
Keeled Scales is an independent record label based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2014 by musicians Tony Presley (Real Live Tigers) and Seth Whaland (Literature, Tres Oui). The label has released over 60 albums from artists such as Buck Mee ...
which are bi-, tri-, or quadricarinate. It has a terminal
scute
A scute () or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "Scutum (shield), shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of Bird anatomy#Scales, birds. The ter ...
with a transverse ridge and two points.
[ Boulenger, G.A. (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. (''Silybura brevis'', pp. 158–159).]
References
Further reading
*
Beddome, R.H. (1863). "Descriptions of New Species of the Family Uropeltidæ from Southern India, with Notes on other little-known Species". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1863: 225–229 + Plates XXV–XXVII.
*Beddome, R.H. (1863). "Further Notes upon the Snakes of the Madras Presidency; with some Descriptions of New Species". ''Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science'' 6: 41–48.
eprint: (1940). ''J. Soc. Bibliogr. Nat. Sci., London'' 1 (10): 306–314
*Beddome, R.H. (1864). "Descriptions of New Species of the Family Uropeltidæ from Southern India, with Notes on other little-known Species". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series'' 13: 177–180.
*Beddome, R.H. (1886). "An Account of the Earth-Snakes of the Peninsula of India and Ceylon". ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Fifth Series'' 17: 3–33.
*
Cocteau, J.T. (1833). "''Sur le genre de reptiles ophidiens nommé'' Uropeltis ''par Cuvier, et description d'une espèce de ce genre''". ''Magasin de Zoologie Guérin, Paris, Class. III'', seven unnumbered pages + Plate 2. (in French).
*
Cuvier, (1829). ''Le Règne Animal Distribué, d'après son organisation, pour servir de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction a l'anatomie comparée. Nouvelle édition, revue et augmentée. Tome II.'' Paris: Déterville. xv + 406 pp. (''Uropeltis ceylanicus'', new species, p. 76). (in French).
*
Ganesh, S.R.;
Aengals, R.;
Ramanujam, E. (2014). "Taxonomic reassessment of two Indian shieldtail snakes in the ''Uropeltis ceylanicus'' species group (Reptilia: Uropeltidae)". ''Journal of Threatened Taxa'' 6''; (1): 5305–5314.
*
Gower, D.J.;
Captain, A.;
Thakur, S.S. (2008). "On the taxonomic status of ''Uropeltis bicatenata'' (GÜNTHER) (Reptilia: Serpentes: Uropeltidae)". ''Hamadryad'' 33 (1): 64–82.
*
Gray, J.E. (1858). "On a new Genus and several New Species of Uropeltidæ, in the Collection of the British Museum". ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series'' 2: 376–381.
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3005231
Uropeltidae
Reptiles of India
Endemic fauna of India
Reptiles described in 1829
Taxa named by Georges Cuvier