Rhinophis sanguineus 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 : 485

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.4579361
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A82A47-833D-FFA5-FC50-FDC0FBCC7C99
treatment provided by	Felipe (2021-03-03 17:02:42, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-01 22:57:55)
scientific name	Rhinophis sanguineus Beddome, 1863
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( Fig. 7H View FIG )

Rhinophis sanguineus Beddome, 1863a: 47 . Beddome (1863a) reports collecting several syntypes, but Boulenger (1893a) reports only one male with 197 ventrals and nine subcaudals. Gans (1966) also states that only one syntype (BMNH 1864.3.9.2 now: 1946.1.16.54), catalogued as “one of the types”, is now known. Wallach et al. (2014) also list BMNH 1874.4.29.110 (= 1946.1.16.76) as a syntype, but this specimen is putatively the holotype of Rhinophis microlepis Beddome, 1863 (see Gans 1966). We designate BMNH 1946.1.16.54 as the lectotype, to remove any ambiguity.Type locality: Cherambadi, northern Kerala state, India.

Rhinophis microlepis Beddome, 1863a: 47 . Holotype: BMNH 1874.4.29.110 (= 1946.1.16.76). Type locality: Minchin estate, Kerala state, India. Designated as a junior subjective synonym by Beddome (1886). See Beddome (1863a).

DISTRIBUTION. — India, known from the Nilgiris northwards to the Agumbe hills, c. 750-1065 m (see Ferguson 1895; Wall 1919; Aengals & Ganesh 2013; Wallach et al. 2014; Ganesh 2015).

DESCRIPTION

Maximum total length c. 460 mm, ventrals 182-218 though Mason (1888) reported 166-183 from putatively conspecific populations in the Wullingy forests near Palghat, subcaudals 5-11, dorsal scales in 15 rows at midbody (see Wall 1919; Smith 1943; Constable 1949). Distinctive color-pattern, with a bluish-black dorsal coloration, bright-red venter with black mottling, and red streaks on the tail.

REMARKS

The original description ( Beddome 1863a) reports the collection of several syntypes, but apparently only a few were catalogued, and only one is now known ( Gans 1966). Boulenger (1893a) reports a large topotypic series collected by Beddome but does not refer to them as types; either they were collected at a later date, or they weren’t catalogued as types initially. The lower ventral count reported by Mason (1888) is of uncertain validity, and may represent a new or cryptic species from the Wullingy forests near Palghat. Records of this species exist from South of Palghat Gap ( Hutton 1949), but we did not examine the specimens to determine their validity.

References

AENGALS R. & GANESH S. 2013. - Rhinophis goweri - A new species of shieldtail snake from the southern Eastern Ghats, India. Russian Journal of Herpetology 20: 61 - 65.

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. 1886. - An account of the earth-snakes of the peninsula of India and Ceylon. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 17: 3 - 33.

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.

CONSTABLE J. D. 1949. - Reptiles from the Indian Peninsula in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 103: 59 - 160.

FERGUSON H. S. 1895. - List of snakes taken in Travancore from 1888 - 1895. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 10: 68 - 77.

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.

GANS C. 1966. - Liste der rezenten Reptilien und Amphibien. Uropeltidae. Das Tierreich 84: 1 - 29.

HUTTON A. F. 1949. - Notes on the snakes and mammals of the High Wavy Mountains, Madura District, south India. Part I-Snakes. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 48: 454 - 460.

MASON G. E. 1888. - Description of a new earth-snake of the genus Silybura from the Bombay Presidency with remarks on little known Uropeltidae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1: 184 - 186.

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.

WALL F. 1919. - Notes on a collection of snakes made in the Nilgiri hills and adjacent Wynaad. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 26: 552 - 584.

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.

Figures

FIG. 7. — Some uropeltid species photographed in life: A, Rhinophis homolepis Hemprich, 1820; B, R. melanogaster (Gray, 1858); C, R. oxyrhynchus (Schneider, 1801); D, R. philippinus (Cuvier, 1829); E, R. phillipsi (Nicholls, 1929) n. comb.; F, R. punctatus Müller,1832; G, R. saffragamus (Kelaart, 1853) n. comb.; H, R. sanguineus Beddome, 1863. Photos by RAP, RS, SRG, VS, A. Dey, R. Pethiyagoda, and S. Kehimkar.