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| Uropeltis rajendrani
Ganesh & Achyuthan, 2020
Rajendran’s Shieldtail Snake || DOI: 10.11609/jott.5680.12.4.15436-15442
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Abstract
We describe a new species of shieldtail (uropeltid) snake, Uropeltis rajendrani sp. nov., from the Kolli Hill complex of the southern Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India. The new species belongs to the U. ceylanica group and is differentiated from related species in having 16–17:16–17:15–16 dorsal scale rows; 145–158 ventral scales; 8–11 pairs of subcaudals; dorsum uniform brown, anteriorly powdered with yellow mottling; venter brown, scales outlined with yellow. This endemic species with a restricted range is known only from atop Kolli Hill complex, inhabiting higher elevation (> 900m) evergreen forests, where it is the only known member of this genus.
Keywords: Allopatric species, endemism, isolated massif, Uropeltis rajendrani sp. nov., Western Ghats.
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| Live uncollected topotypes (adult and juvenile) – the Kolli Hill complex, southern Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu.
photos: S.R. Ganesh.
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Uropeltis rajendrani sp. nov.
Uropeltis cf. ceylanica (nec Cuvier, 1829) – Ganesh & Arumugam 2016
Etymology: Named in honour of Dr. Maria Viswasam Rajendran (2 Nov 1916–6 Aug 1993), ‘MVR’ for short, for his exhaustive studies on shieldtail snakes in Tamil Nadu, next only to Richard Henry Beddome and Frank Wall. Not only was he a professor of zoology at the St. Joseph’s College Palayamkottai (Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu) but also the director of the Madras (now Chennai) Snake Park (Chennai, Tamil Nadu) during the early 1980s.
Common name: Rajendran’s Shieldtail Snake.
Type locality: Bodhamalai Hills near Salem and Namakkal District border, overlooking Panamarathupatti Town (...; 1,070m), Tamil Nadu State, peninsular India.
Diagnosis: A species of Uropeltis from the Kolli Hill complex, characterized by having the following combination of characters: (1) caudal shield truncate, with a distinct thickened circumscribed concave disc; (2) part of rostral visible from above not distinctly longer than its distance from frontal; (3) rostral scale partially separating nasal scales; (4) snout obtusely rounded; (5) eye diameter 3/4th that of ocular shield; (6) dorsal scale rows 16–17:16–17:15–16; (7) ventral scales 145–158; (8) subcaudal scales 8–11 pairs; (9) dorsum deep brown, unpatterned, anteriorly with a few yellow speckles; (10) venter yellow, each scale edged with brown.
S.R. Ganesh and N.S. Achyuthan. 2020. A New Species of Shieldtail Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Uropeltidae) from Kolli Hill complex, southern Eastern Ghats, peninsular India. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 12(4); 15436–15442. DOI: 10.11609/jott.5680.12.4.15436-15442
