Uropeltis ellioti (Gray, 1858)

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 : 491

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5252/z2016n4a2
publication LSID	urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BFFD82EF-50C9-42BF-8493-DF57591EA4FF
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A82A47-833B-FFA3-FC1E-FE23FC1D7C99
treatment provided by	Felipe (2021-03-03 17:02:42, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-01 22:57:55)
scientific name	Uropeltis ellioti (Gray, 1858)
status

Treatment

( Fig. 8F View FIG )

Siloboura ellioti Gray, 1858a: 261 . Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.16.6. Type locality: Given only as “Madras”. The phrase probably refers to the Madras Presidency, a colonial province encompassing most of southern and southeastern India, and not the city of Madras (present-day Chennai). Restriction of this locality by subsequent revision will likely be needed in the future, as this is likely a complex of species (see below). See Gray (1858a).

Silybura punctata Günther, 1875: 229 . Five syntypes: BMNH 1946.1 .16.40, Golcondah hills, Kerala state, India; BMNH 1946.1.16.43-46, Pulney hills, Tamil Nadu state, India. Designated as a subjective junior synonym by Boulenger (1893a) .

DISTRIBUTION. — Apparently a widespread Indian species (see Wallach et al. 2014; Ganesh 2015), occurring in both the Eastern ( Rajendran 1985; Guptha et al. 2012; Ganesh & Arumugam 2016) and Western Ghats as far North as Gujarat (VS, pers. obs.); a patched form also occurs in the Satpura hills of Central India at varying elevations (500-1800 m; Wadatkar & Chikhale 2010).

DESCRIPTION

Maximum total size c. 320 mm, ventrals 144-176, subcaudals 5-11, dorsal scales in 17 rows at midbody ( Whitaker & Captain 2004). Ganesh & Arumugam (2016) report 137-153 ventrals from the Jawadi and Shevaroy hills. Smith (1943) classified the tail as state I, but in the MNHN specimens examined, it exhibits his state II, being relatively truncated and compressed dorsally, with clear separation between the bi- or tri-carinate shield scales and the smooth dorsal scales on the side of the tail (see Rajendran 1985). We classify the tail as Type IV. The snout is “Alternate Pointed”, with an enlarged and recurved rostral. Color pattern is variable, with a dark brown or black dorsal coloration with occasional yellowish-white spots, short stripes on the side of the neck and tail, a dark brown venter with small yellow dots, and a transverse yellow bar across the vent connecting the stripes on either side of the tail. The tail and color-pattern clearly varies geographically, in comparison with the specimen pictured by Whitaker & Captain (2004), and those examined here (Appendix I). This is likely a complex of species.

REMARKS

The distribution of this species is not very well-studied, but it is apparently common at several sites throughout its range, with wide geographic variation in meristic characters (particularly ventral-scale counts) and tail morphology suggesting the presence of cryptic species (see Rajendran 1985). Thus, a detailed comparison of multiple populations will be needed to determine the phylogeographic structure and correct geographic assignment of the holotype for the nominal lineage.

References

BOULENGER G. A. 1893 a. - Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., containing the families Typhlopidae, Glauconiidae, Boidae, Ilysiidae, Uropeltidae, Xenopeltidae and Colubridae aglyphae, part. British Museum (Natural History), London, 448 p.

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.

GANESH S. R. & ARUMUGAM M. 2016. - Species richness of montane herpetofauna of southern Eastern Ghats, India: a historical resume and a descriptive checklist. Russian Journal of Herpetology 23: 7 - 24.

GRAY J. E. 1858 a. - On a new genus and several new species of Uropeltidae, in the collection of the British Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 26: 260 - 265.

GUNTHER A. C. L. G. 1875. - Second report on collections of Indian reptiles obtained by the British Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 43: 224 - 234.

GUPTHA M. B., RAO P. V. C., PRASAD N. V. S., MADDALA S. R. S. C. S., BABU P. M. & REDDY D. S. 2012. - Status of herpetofauna in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, Eastern Ghats Andhra Pradesh, India. World Journal of Zoology 7: 131 - 134.

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.

WADATKAR J. S. & CHIKHALE M. P. 2010. - First record of Uropeltis ellioti and study of their habits and habitat in Melghat Forest in Satpura. Reptile Rap 9: 4 - 5.

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.

WHITAKER R. & CAPTAIN A. 2004. - Snakes of India: the Field Guide. Draco Books, Chennai, 481 p.

Figures

FIG. 8. — Some uropeltid species photographed in life: A, Rhinophis zigzag Gower & Maduwage, 2011; B, Teretrurus sanguineus (Beddome, 1867); C, Uropeltis bicatenata (Günther,1864); D, U. ceylanica Cuvier,1829; E, U.dindigalensis (Beddome,1877);F, U. ellioti (Gray,1858); G, U. liura (Günther,1875);H, U. macrolepis (Peters, 1861). Photos by RAP, RS, SRG, VS, S. Kehimkar, A. Mohan, and D. Raju.