Uropeltis rajendrani

Uropeltis rajendrani commonly known as the Rajendran's shieldtail, is a species of snake belonging to the family Uropeltidae. This recently described species is known only from a few hills in the Southern Eastern Ghats, in Namakkal and the bordering Salem district of Tamil Nadu State in South India.[1]

Uropeltis rajendrani
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Uropeltidae
Genus: Uropeltis
Species:
U. rajendrani
Binomial name
Uropeltis rajendrani
Ganesh & Achyuthan, 2020

Etymology

Named in honour of Dr. Maria Viswasam Rajendran (2 Nov 1916–6 Aug 1993), ‘MVR’ for short, for his exhaustive studies on shieldtail snakes in Tamil Nadu.

Identification

A species of Uropeltis from the Kolli Hill complex, characterized by having the following combination of characters: (1) caudal shield truncate, with a distinct thickened circumscribed concave disc; (2) part of rostral visible from above not distinctly longer than its distance from frontal; (3) rostral scale partially separating nasal scales; (4) snout obtusely rounded; (5) eye diameter 3/4th that of ocular shield; (6) dorsal scale rows 16–17:16–17:15–16; (7) ventral scales 145–158; (8) subcaudal scales 8–11 pairs; (9) dorsum deep brown, unpatterned, anteriorly with a few yellow speckles; (10) venter yellow, each scale edged with brown.

Distribution and habitat

Uropeltis rajendrani is a fossorial snake, that is mostly nocturnal, feeding presumably on soft-bodied worms. It was described from the Bodha Malai hills near Panamarathupatti town. This species has previously been sighted from Semmedu, Solakkadu, Kuzhivalavu, Seekuparai, Thenur Nadu, Selur Nadu, Gundur Nadu settlements of Kolli Hills. Uropeltis rajendrani inhabits moist forest floor and under the humus-rich top soil, in humid forests.[2]

References
  1. Ganesh, Achyuthan (2020). "A new species of shieldtail snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Uropeltidae) from Kolli Hill complex, southern Eastern Ghats, peninsular India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 12 (4): 15436–15442. doi:10.11609/jott.5680.12.4.15436-15442.
  2. Ganesh, S. R., M. Arumugam (May 2016). ""Species richness of montane herpetofauna of southern Eastern Ghats, India: A historical resume and a descriptive checklist"". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 23 (1): 7–24.
  • Ganesh, S.R. & N.S. Achyuthan (2020). A new species of shieldtail snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Uropeltidae) from Kolli Hill complex, southern Eastern Ghats, peninsular India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(4): 15436–15442.
  • Ganesh, S.R. & M. Arumugam (2015). Microhabitat use and abundance estimates of understorey herpetofauna in the highlands of southern Eastern Ghats, India, with observations on roadkill mortalities. Asian Journal of Conservation Biology 4: 143–150.
  • Ganesh, S.R. & M. Arumugam (2016). Species richness of montane herpetofauna of southern Eastern Ghats, India: a historical resume and a descriptive checklist. Russian Journal of Herpetology 23(1):7–24.
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