Plectrurus aureus Beddome, 1880

Pyron, Robert Alexander, Ganesh, Sumaithangi Rajagopalan, Sayyed, Amit, Sharma, Vivek, Wallach, Van & Somaweera, Ruchira, 2016, A catalogue and systematic overview of the shield-tailed snakes (Serpentes: Uropeltidae), Zoosystema 38 (4), pp. 453-506 : 478

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5252/z2016n4a2
publication LSID	urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BFFD82EF-50C9-42BF-8493-DF57591EA4FF
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4579353
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A82A47-8304-FF9C-FEC2-FF62FE4378FD
treatment provided by	Felipe (2021-03-03 17:02:42, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-01 22:57:55)
scientific name	Plectrurus aureus Beddome, 1880
status

Treatment

Plectrurus aureus Beddome, 1880: 182 .

TYPE MATERIAL. — Two syntypes: BMNH 1883.1.12.53 (= 1946.1.1.54) and MNHN-RA-1895.107.

TYPE LOCALITY. — Chembra Peak, Wayanad hills, Kerala state, India.

DISTRIBUTION. — India, known only from type locality, in the western Nilgiris at elevations c. 2050 m (see Beddome 1880; Wallach et al. 2014; Ganesh 2015).

DESCRIPTION

Maximum total length c. 400 mm, ventrals 164-177, subcaudals 8-12 (see Beddome 1880; Smith 1943). Distinctive color-pattern, with a golden-brown dorsum incompletely ringed with fragmentary purplish-black crossbands or spots.

REMARK

This species has apparently not been collected since the late 19th century based on a lack of recent published reports or accessioned specimens, and is known from only a few specimens collected by Beddome.

References

BEDDOME R. H. 1880. - Description of a new snake of the genus Plectrurus from Malabar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 48: 182.

GANESH S. R. 2015. - Shieldtail snakes (Reptilia: Uropeltidae. - the Darwin's finches of south Indian snake fauna?, in KANNAN, P. (Ed.) Manual on Identification and Preparation of Keys of Snakes with Special Reference to their Venomous Nature in India. Proceedings by Government Arts College, Udhagamandalam, Tamilnadu, India, 13 - 24.

SMITH M. A. 1943. - The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor & Francis, London, 583 p.

WALLACH V., WILLIAMS K. L. & BOUNDY J. 2014. - Snakes of the World: a Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1209 p.