Ophisops beddomei

Ophisops beddomei, commonly known as Beddome's snake-eye or Beddome’ s lacerta, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The is a diurnal and fast-moving terrestrial lizard, that is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.

Ophisops beddomei

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Ophisops
Species:
O. beddomei
Binomial name
Ophisops beddomei
(Jerdon, 1870)
Synonyms[2]
  • Pseudophiops beddomei
    Jerdon, 1870
  • Pseudophiops monticola
    Beddome, 1870
  • Ophiops beddomii
    — Stoliczka, 1872
  • Ophisops beddomei
    — M.A. Smith, 1935

Geographic range

O. beddomei is found in Western India in the Indian states of Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashta, and Tamil Nadu.[3]

The type locality is given as "Bremnagherry hills" (Brahmagiri Hills), Wayanad.

Etymology

O. beddomei is named after Richard Henry Beddome, 1830-1911, British army officer and botanist.[4]

Description

O. beddomei is very similar to O. jerdonii. O. beddomei has two or three frontonasals on a transverse line, one or two azygos prefrontals nearly always are present, and the first and fourth supraoculars are usually broken up into several very small shields or granules. Lateral scales are distinctly smaller than the dorsals; 28 to 32 scales occur around the body. Femoral pores number eight to 13. Coloration is as in Ophisops jerdonii, but the upper lateral light streak is frequently absent.[5]

References
  1. Srinivasulu, B., Srinivasulu, C., Vijayakumar, S.P., Ganesan, S.R. & Ramesh, M. 2014. Ophisops beddomei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T172618A1353104. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T172618A1353104.en. Downloaded on 15 May 2019.
  2. Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Ophisops beddomei, p. 378).
  3. "Ophisops beddomei ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ophisops beddomei, p. 21).
  5. 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 beddomii [sic]", pp. 174-175).

Further reading
  • Beddome RH (1870). "Descriptions of new reptiles from the Madras Presidency". Madras Monthly J. Med. Sci. 2: 169-176. [Reprint. 1940: J. Soc. Bibliogr. Nat. Sci., London 1 (10): 327-334.]
  • Gayen NC (1999). "A synopsis of the reptiles of Gujarat, western India". Hamadryad 24 (1): 1-22.
  • Jerdon TC (1870). "Notes on Indian Herpetology". Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal March 1870: 66-85. (Pseudophiops beddomei, new species, p. 72).
  • Vyas R (2003). "First record of Ophisops beddomei (Jerdon, 1870) from Gujarat State, western India". Hamadryad 27 (2): 280-281.
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