:''Common names: burrowing snakes''
[The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.]
''Plectrurus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of nonvenomous
shield tail snakes
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
Western Ghats of
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
.
Currently, four
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 ...
are recognized.
They inhabit high elevation montane ''Shola'' forests and are usually found under fallen logs and rocks. Some species are rare while some are quite common in their range.
Description
Small snakes, they do not exceed 43 cm (17 in).
An ocular shield covers the eye. The eyes are small, diameter not more than half the length of the ocular shield. The tail is laterally compressed. The terminal scute also is laterally compressed, with two superposed points. The points are simple, bifid, or trifid.
[ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Uropeltidæ...'' Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. pp. 160-161.]
Species
''*) Not including the nominate subspecies''
T)
Type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1006700
Uropeltidae
Snake genera
Taxa named by Auguste Duméril