Ophisops Jerdonii

''Ophisops jerdonii'', commonly known as Jerdon's cabrita, Jerdon's snake-eye, or Punjab snake-eyed lacerta, is a species of lacertid lizard, which is distributed in east Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Etymology

The specific name, ''jerdonii'', is in honor of British biologist Thomas C. Jerdon.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Ophisops jerdonii'', p. 134).

Description

Head moderate, feebly depressed. Upper head-shields rugose, keeled and striated; nostril lateral, pierced between 3 or 4 shields, viz. an anterior, or an upper and a lower anterior nasal and two superposed postnasals ; a large frontonasal; frequently one or two small azygos shields between the pair of prefrontals; four supraoculars, first and fourth small, the two principal separated from the supraciliaries by a series of granules; occipital small, sometimes a little broader than the interparietal, with which it forms a suture; subocular bordering the lip, between the fourth and fifth (or third and fourth) upper labials; temporal scales small, keeled; one or two large subtemporal shields border the parietals externally; tympanic shield small or indistinct. No gular fold extending from ear to ear; collar quite indistinct. Dorsal scales large, strongly keeled, much imbricate, scarcely larger on the back than on the sides; 28 to 35 scales round the middle of the body (ventrals included). A large postero-median preanal plate. The hind limb reaches the shoulder or halfway between the latter and the ear in the male, not to axilla in the female; 7 to 11 femoral pores on each side. Tail once and a half to twice as long as head and body; caudal scales about as large as dorsals. Coppery-brown above, with two pale golden lateral streaks bordered with black, the upper extending from the supraciliaries to the tail, the lower from the upper lip to the groin; frequently a series of large black spots between the two lateral streaks; lower surfaces yellowish white.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. (''Ophiops jerdonii'', p. 174).

From snout to vent ; tail .

Central India (Saugor, Mhow), N.W. Provinces (Agra), Punjab, Sind, Madras Presidency (Bellary).

References

Further reading

* Arnold EN (1989). "Towards a phylogeny and biogeography of the Lacertidae : relationships within an Old-World family of lizards derived from morphology". ''Bull. British Mus.(Nat. Hist.) Zool.'' 55 (2): 209–257.
* Beddome RH (1870). "Descriptions of some new lizards from the Madras Presidency". ''Madras Monthly J. Med. Sci.'' 1: 30–35.
* Blyth E (1854). "Notices and Descriptions of various Reptiles, new or little known art I. ''J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal'' 22 853 639–655. ("''Ophiops Jerdoni'' ", new species, p. 653).
* Böhme W, Bischoff W (1991). "On the proper denomination of ''Cabrita jerdonii'' Beddome, 1870 (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 12: 220–221.
* Das I (2002). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (''Ophisops jerdoni'', p. 103).
*Das, Indraneil; Dattagupta, Basudeb (1997). "Rediscovery of the holotypes of ''Ophisops jerdoni'' Blyth, 1853 and ''Barkudia insularis'' Annandale, 1917". ''Hamadryad'' 22 (1): 53–55.
* Jerdon TC (1870). "Notes on Indian Herpetology". ''Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal'' 1870 (March 1870): 66–85.

External links

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Ophisops
Reptiles of Afghanistan
Reptiles of India
Reptiles of Pakistan
Taxa named by Edward Blyth
Reptiles described in 1853

{{Lacertidae-stub