''Plectrurus aureus'', commonly known as the Kerala burrowing snake or Kerala shieldtail, 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 ...
of
uropeltid 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
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 ...
.
Geographic range
It is found in southwestern
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 ...
in the
Western Ghats.
Type locality: "Chambra mountain in Wynad, near Kalpatty - one under an old rotten log at 6,000 feet elevation, the other under a large stone at 4,500 feet, both in heavy evergreen forest".
Description
Dorsum gold-colored, the scales edged with violet; a few irregular narrow violet-black crossbars may be present. Ventrum brighter gold-colored, with violet-black crossbands or alternating spots.
Adults may attain a total length of .
Ventrals 164–177; subcaudals 8–12.
Scalation very similar to ''
Plectrurus guentheri
''Plectrurus guentheri'', commonly known as Günther's burrowing snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
Description
The following description of ''P. guentheri'' is provide ...
'', except the ventrals are two times as broad as the contiguous scales. Diameter of body 39 to 44 times in the total length.
[ 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. 162-163, Plate X., Figures 3. & 3a.]
Footnotes
Further reading
*
Beddome, R.H. 1880. Description of a new Snake of the Genus ''Plectrurus'' from Malabar. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880: 182.
*
Beddome, R.H. 1886. An Account of the Earth-Snakes of the Peninsula of India and Ceylon. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5) 17: 3-33.
External links
*
Uropeltidae
Reptiles of India
Reptiles described in 1880
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