:''Common names: shield tail snakes, earth snakes.''
''Uropeltis'' 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
Peninsular 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 ...
. As of 2022, 26
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 as being valid.
Geographic range
Most ''Uropeltis'' species are found in the hills of Peninsular India, mainly in the southwestern parts of the country, including the
Western Ghats and, to some extent, also 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 in the hills of
Central India
Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...
.
Description
Species in the genus ''Uropeltis'' share the following characters. The eye is in the ocular shield. There are no
supraoculars
In scaled reptiles, supraocular scales are (enlarged) scales on the crown immediately above the eye.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ...
nor
temporals. There is no
mental groove. The tail is conical or obliquely truncated, terminating in a small scute, the end of which is square, or bicuspid with the points side by side.
[ 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. (Genus ''Silybura'', p. 144).]
Species
* Not including the
nominate subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.
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 ...
.
''
Nota bene
(, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well".
It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature
and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...
'': A taxon author in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Uropeltis''.
References
Further reading
*
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. (Genus ''Silybura'', p. 257, Figure 81).
*
Cuvier (1829). ''Le Régne Animal Distribué, d'après son Organisation, pour servir de base à l'Histoire naturelle des Animaux et d'introduction à l'Anatomie Comparé. Nouvelle Edition, Revue et Augmentée''
econd edition ''Tome II''
olume 2 ''Les Reptiles''. Paris: Déterville. xv + 406 pp. (''Uropeltis'', new genus, pp. 76–77). (in French).
*
Das I (2002). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (Genus ''Uropeltis'', pp. 59–60).
*
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. (Genus ''Uropeltis'', p. 73).
*
Wall F (1921). ''Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon.'' Colombo, Ceylon
ri Lanka Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, Government Printer). xxii + 581 pp. (Genus ''Uropeltis'', pp. 23–25, Figures 7-9).
*
Ganesh SR (2015). ''Shieldtail snakes (Reptilia: Uropeltidae)– the Darwin's finches of south Indian snake fauna?'' Manual on Identification and Preparation of Keys of Snakes with Special Reference to their Venomous Nature in India., Govt. Arts College, Ooty, 13-24.
*
Pyron RA, Ganesh SR,
Sayyed A,
Sharma V,
Wallach V,
Somaweera R (2016). "A catalogue and systematic overview of the shield-tailed snakes (Serpentes: Uropeltidae)". ''Zoosystema'' 38 (4): 453–506.
*
Rajendran MV (1985). "Studies on Uropeltid Snakes". Madurai: Publication Division, Madurai Kamaraj University. 132 pp.
*
Sharma RC (2003). ''Handbook: Indian Snakes''. Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India. 292 pp. .
*
Whitaker R,
Captain A
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
(2008). ''Snakes of India: The Field Guide''. Chennai: Draco Books. 495 pp. .
External links
*
Captain, Ashok (2003). Checklist of Indian Snakes with English Common Names
PDFat th
University of Texas at Austin Accessed 2 September 2007.
a
Systema Naturae 2000 Accessed 2 September 2007.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2706018
Uropeltidae
Taxa named by Georges Cuvier
Snake genera