''Plectrurus perrotetii'', commonly known as the Nilgiri burrowing snake or Perrotet's shieldtail,. www.reptile-database.org 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 harmless

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 ...

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 ...

Uropeltidae The Uropeltidae, also known Common name, commonly as the shieldtails or the shield-tailed snakes, are a Family (biology), family of primitive, nonvenomous, burrowing snakes native to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The name is derived from the Gr ...

. 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 ...

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

The specific name, ''perrotetii'' or ''perroteti'', is in honour of French naturalist

George Samuel Perrottet George Samuel Perrottet (23 February 1790 – 13 January 1870, Pondicherry), also known as Georges Guerrard-Samuel Perrottet, Guerrard Samuel Perrottet, Gustave Samuel Perrotet ic and Samuel Perrottet, was a botanist and horticulturalist from Pr ...

(1793–1867).Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Plectrurus perroteti'', p. 203).

Geographic range

''P. perrotetii'' is found in the Western Ghats and hills of southern

Description

''P. perrotetii'' is a small snake, growing to a maximum of in total length (including tail). The head is pointed, and the tail is blunt. It has smooth, glossy scales and is brown in colour.

Biology

Like the common worm snake, ''

Ramphotyphlops braminus ''Indotyphlops braminus'', commonly known as the brahminy blind snake and other names, is a non-venomous blind snake species found mostly in Africa and Asia, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. They are completely fossori ...

'', ''Plectrurus perrotetii'' is also often mistaken for

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

s, upon which it feeds. It is considered an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

, and little else is known about this snake.

References

* Boulenger GA (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ...Uropeltidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (''Plectrurus perroteti'', p. 161). * Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A H-A(1854). ''Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième.—Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux'' General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles. Volume 7, Part I. Containing the Natural History of the Nonvenomous Snakes Paris: Roret. xvi + 780 pp. (''Plectrurus perroteti'', new species, pp. 167–168). (in French). * Smith MA (1943). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (''Plectrurus perroteti'', p. 71).

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