Beddome's coral snake (''Calliophis beddomei)'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 or g ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "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 Emydoce ...

. The species is

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 hills of peninsular

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 ...

Etymology

''C. beddomei'' is named after

Richard Henry Beddome Colonel Richard Henry Beddome (11 May 1830 – 23 February 1911) was a British military officer and naturalist in India, who became chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department. In the mid-19th century, he extensively surveyed several ...

(1830-1911), British army officer and naturalist.

Geographic range and habitat

Beddome's coral snake is found in semi-evergreen and tropical dry deciduous hills in the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

and the Western Ghats of India, at altitudes of . Being first described from the

Shevaroy Hills The Selvarayan hills, with the anglicised name Shevaroy Hills, are a towering mountain range (1620 m) near the city of Salem, in Tamil Nadu state, southern India. It is one of the major hill stations in Tamil Nadu and in the Eastern Ghats. The loc ...

Yercaud Yercaud is a Hill station in Salem District, in Tamil Nadu, India. History Stone-age implements have been found from the ancient shrine located near Shevaroy Hills (also known as Shevarayan Hills), which is about 5 km from the Yercaud ...

, this species was later known from other parts of the Western Ghats. It is only known from three localities, Koppa,

Nilgiri Mountains The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

, and Shevaroy.

Description

''C. beddomei'' may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , with a tail length of . Smith MA (1943).

Behavior

''C. beddomei'' is

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

Reproduction

''C. beddomei'' is oviparous.

Threats and conservation

''C. beddomei'' is not considered to be used for commercial use and is not known from any protected areas. However, it is listed in Schedule IV of

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established scheduled pr ...