Plectrurus guentheri Beddome, 1863

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.4579355
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A82A47-8304-FF9C-FF31-FC61FCFF7DDF
treatment provided by	Felipe (2021-03-03 17:02:42, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-01 22:57:55)
scientific name	Plectrurus guentheri Beddome, 1863
status

Treatment

Plectrurus guentheri Beddome, 1863a: 48 .

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype: BMNH 1883.1 .12.54 (= 1946.1.16.32).

TYPE LOCALITY. — Walaghat, Nilgiri hills, Kerala state, India.

DISTRIBUTION. — India, known only from the Nilgiris (Walaghat and Coonoor) at elevations 1065-2250 m (see Rajendran 1985; Wallach et al. 2014; Ganesh 2015).

DESCRIPTION

Maximum total length c. 375 mm, ventrals 171-175, subcaudals 10-12, and terminal scute of tail with multiple ridges (see Smith 1943; Rajendran 1985). Color-pattern distinctive, with a purplish-black dorsum and golden-yellow venter, which extends onto the dorsum in irregular triangles up the side of the body, running its length.

REMARKS

This species has apparently been collected only once (in 1972) since the late 19th century (see Rajendran 1985). As with many other uropeltid species, we consider Beddome (1863a) to be the original description, rather than Beddome (1863b).

References

BEDDOME R. H. 1863 a. - Further notes upon the snakes of the Madras Presidency; with descriptions of new species. Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science 6: 41 - 48.

BEDDOME R. H. 1863 b. - Descriptions of new species of the family Uropeltidae from southern India, with notes on other little-known species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 31: 225 - 229.

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.

RAJENDRAN M. 1985. - Studies in uropeltid snakes. Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, 132 p.

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.