Uropeltis dindigalensis

Uropeltis dindigalensis
Conservation status
	; Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Uropeltidae
Genus:	Uropeltis
Species:	U. dindigalensis
Binomial name
	Uropeltis dindigalensis; (Beddome, 1877)
Synonyms
	Silybura dindigalensis Beddome, 1877; Uropeltis dindigalensis ; - M.A. Smith, 1943;

Uropeltis dindigalensis, commonly known as the Sirumalai Hills earth snake or the Dindigul Uropeltis, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. It is endemic to Sirumalai and surrounding hill ranges of Southern Eastern Ghats, in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu state in South India.

Geographic range[]

It is found only in Sirumalai, a part of Southern Eastern Ghats in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu in South India. It occurs in high-elevation wet forests, over 900 m asl. It is also sometimes met with in coffee and mixed fruit orchards and plantations in this region.

Type locality = "Heavy forest on the Sirumullay hills, near Dindigul, at 4000–5000 feet elevation".

Description[]

Dorsum yellowish with small dark brown spots, the yellow scales dark-edged. A yellow streak on the labials, continuing along each side of the neck. Ventrum dark brown with yellow spots or yellow short crossbars. Ventral surface of tail yellow.

The largest of the type specimens is 35.5 cm (14 inches) in total length.

Dorsal scales in 19 rows behind the head, in 17 rows at midbody. Ventrals 156–168; subcaudals 5–10.

Snout acutely pointed. Rostral laterally compressed, about two fifths the length of the shielded part of the head, the portion visible from above much longer than its distance from the frontal. Nasals in contact with each other behind the rostral. Frontal longer than broad. Eye very small, not half the length of the ocular shield. Diameter of the body 26 to 32 times in the total length. Ventrals twice as broad as the contiguous scales. Tail obliquely truncate, flat dorsally, with strongly pluricarinate scales. Terminal scute with a transverse ridge and two points.^[3]^[4]

Habits[]

A poorly-known snake, not often documented in scientific studies due to its very small geographic range. A fossorial, nocturnal, slow-moving snake. It is known to feed on earthworms.

Footnotes[]

^ Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Ganesan, S.R.; Vijayakumar, S.P. (2013). "Uropeltis dindigalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T172621A1353772. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172621A1353772.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org
^ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Uropeltidæ... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural HIstory). London. p. 152, Plate VII., figure 1.
^ Ganesh, S. R.; M. Arumugam (2016). "Species Richness of Montane Herpetofauna of Southern Eastern Ghats, India: A Historical Resume and a Descriptive Checklist". Russ. J. Herpetol. 23 (1): 7–24.

External links[]

Uropeltis dindigalensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 December 2007.

[iucn_status_19_November_2021-1] Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Ganesan, S.R.; Vijayakumar, S.P. (2013). "Uropeltis dindigalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T172621A1353772. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172621A1353772.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[2] The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org

[3] Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Uropeltidæ... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural HIstory). London. p. 152, Plate VII., figure 1.

[4] Ganesh, S. R.; M. Arumugam (2016). "Species Richness of Montane Herpetofauna of Southern Eastern Ghats, India: A Historical Resume and a Descriptive Checklist". Russ. J. Herpetol. 23 (1): 7–24.

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