Rhinophis lineatus Gower & Maduwage, 2011

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 : 482

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.4579359
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A82A47-8300-FF98-FF06-FE03FCFE7E5C
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Rhinophis lineatus Gower & Maduwage, 2011
status

Treatment

Rhinophis lineatus Gower & Maduwage, 2011: 53 View Cited Treatment .

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype: CAS 226024. Paratypes: CAS 225806, CAS 226025-226035, and CAS 226042-226044.

TYPE LOCALITY. — Harasbedda, near Ragala, Central province, Sri Lanka.

ETYMOLOGY. — From the Latin lineatus for ‘lined’, referring to the dorsal color-pattern.

DISTRIBUTION. — This species is known only from the vicinity of the type locality in the central hills of the wet zone of Sri Lanka, c. 1460 m ( Gower & Maduwage 2011; Wallach et al. 2014).

DESCRIPTION

Maximum total length c. 290 mm, ventrals 182-195, subcaudals 4-7, dorsal scales in 17 rows at midbody (see Gower & Maduwage 2011). Distinctive color-pattern, with regular, narrow, longitudinal stripes (alternating pale/dark) around and along almost the entire body. It is the only species in the genus characterised by a colour pattern of multiple, narrow longitudinal stripes.

REMARKS

This species was referred to as Rhinophis sp. 1 by Cadle et al. (1990), who demonstrated its distinctiveness using allozyme data. A specimen of this species was mis-labeled as R. drummondhayi by de Silva (1990; see Gower & Maduwage 2011).