Farnsworth's vine snake (''Ahaetulla farnsworthi'') is a species of tree

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

to the central Western Ghats of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered conspecific with '' A. nasuta'', which is now considered to only be endemic to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. A 2020 study found ''A. nasuta'' to be a species complex of ''A. nasuta

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' as well as '' A. borealis'', ''A. farnsworthi'', '' A. isabellina'', and '' A. malabarica''. The species is named after the character

Professor Farnsworth Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, commonly referred to in-show as either Professor Farnsworth or simply Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series '' Futurama''. The mad scientist proprietor of the Planet Expres ...

from the American animated television series ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

'', as a reference to the character's efforts in resurrecting barking snakes from extinction.

Geographic range

This species is endemic to the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, where it is distributed from

Coorg Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

to the

Agumbe Agumbe is a village situated in the Thirthahalli taluka of Shimoga district, Karnataka, India. It is nestled in the thickly forested Malenadu region of the Western Ghats mountain range. Owing to its high rainfall, it has received the epithet ...

Kodachadri Kodachadri ( kn, ಕೊಡಚಾದ್ರಿ) is a mountain peak with dense forests (elevation - 1,343 metres above sea level) in the Western Ghats in South India (Shivamogga District, Karnataka), 78 km from Shimoga. It is declared as nat ...

range. It may be sympatric with ''A. malabarica'' in Coorg, but is largely separated from the species by rivers. Near the northern edge of its range it is flanked by ''A. borealis'', from which it is likely separated by the

Sharavathi River Sharavati is a river which originates and flows entirely within the state of Karnataka in India. It is one of the few westward flowing rivers of India and a major part of the river basin lies in the Western Ghats. The famous Jog Falls, located ...

basin.

Habitat

The species is found in mid-elevation

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

s in the Western Ghats from 500 to 850 msl.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q102109386 Ahaetulla Reptiles of India Snakes of Asia Fauna of Karnataka Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Reptiles described in 2020