Uropeltis woodmasoni
Uropeltis woodmasoni, commonly known as Wood-Mason's earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.
| Uropeltis woodmasoni | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Uropeltidae |
| Genus: | Uropeltis |
| Species: | U. woodmasoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Uropeltis woodmasoni (W. Theobald, 1876) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Etymology
The specific name, woodmasoni, is in honor of English zoologist James Wood-Mason.[3]
Geographic range
U. woodmasoni is found in southern India (Anamalai Hills and Palni Hills, Travancore, Tinnevelly, Nilgiris).
Type locality: "Anamallys and Travancore". (Silybura melanogaster Günther)
Type locality: "Palney hills, S India". (Silybura Wood-Masoni Theobald)
Type locality: "Pulney Mountains, 4,000 feet elevation". (Silybura nigra Beddome)[2]
Description
Dorsum blackish or dark violet, with transverse series of small round yellow spots or ocelli. A lateral series of large yellow spots which may be confluent into a stripe. Ventrum blackish or dark violet.
Adults may attain a total length (including tail) of 28 cm (11 inches).
Smooth dorsal scales arranged in 19 rows at midbody, as well as behind the head. Ventrals 163-178; subcaudals 6-11.
Snout pointed. Portion of rostral visible from above longer than its distance from the frontal, in some specimens separating the nasals. Frontal slightly longer than broad. Eye small, its diameter slightly less than ½ the length of the ocular shield. Diameter of body 23 to 30 times in the total length. Ventrals about twice as large as the contiguous scales. Tail rounded, the dorsal scales of the tail strongly pluricarinate. The terminal scute with two small points.[4]
Taxonomy
The scientific name Silybura melanogaster Günther is unavailable because it is a homonym of Uropeltis melanogaster Gray. Therefore, the specific name, melanogaster, was replaced with the next available specific name, woodmasoni, by Gans in 1966.[2]
References
- Srinivasulu B, Srinivasulu C, Ganesan SR, Vijayakumar SP, Prabhu M (2013). "Uropeltis woodmasoni". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2013: e.T178375A1532051. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T178375A1532051.en. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- Uropeltis woodmasoni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 December 2007.
- 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. (Uropeltis woodmasoni, p. 289).
- 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. (Silybura nigra, p. 151).
Further reading
- Theobald, Wm. (1876). Descriptive Catalogue of the Reptiles of British India. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink and Co. ("S. Wood-Masoni, Theob.", p. 135).
- Beddome RH (1878). "Descriptions of new Uropeltidae from Southern India, with Remarks on some previously-described Species". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1878 (1): 154–155.
- Beddome RH (1886). "An Account of the Earth-Snakes of the Peninsula of India and Ceylon". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Fifth Series 17: 3-33.
- Gans, Carl (1966). "Liste der rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien. Uropeltidae ". Das Terreich 84: 1-29. (in German).