Uropeltis rubromaculata ( Beddome, 1867 )

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 : 498

Uropeltis rubromaculata ( Beddome, 1867)

Silybura rubromaculata Beddome, 1867: 15 .

TYPE MATERIAL. — Between five and seven syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.15.51-52, BMNH 1946.1.15.82-84, MNHN-RA-1895.97, and NMW 18932 (see Remarks).

TYPE LOCALITY. — Anaimalai hills of eastern Kerala and western Tamil Nadu states, India.

DISTRIBUTION. — India; restricted to the Anaimalai Hill complex South of the Palghat Gap, at elevations c. 1065-1820 m ( Wallach et al. 2014; Ganesh 2015).

DESCRIPTION

Maximum total size c. 380 mm, ventrals 127-136, subcaudals 7-10, dorsal scales in 17 rows at midbody (see Smith 1943). Tail is Smith’s (1943) state II (our Type V), resembling that of U. ceylanica or U. macrolepis in being sharply truncated at a c. 45d angle, with thickened, enlarged, bi- or tri-carinate shield scales, and terminating in an enlarged, rugose scute with two points. Snout is “Alternate Pointed”, but rostral is not heavily recurved. Distinctive color pattern, with an olive-brown dorsal coloration, dorsal scales two-toned, lighter posteriorly, a small number of red blotches or ocellations on either side of the body anteriorly, one on either side of the tail, and mixed red and yellow pigmentation of the ventral scales. The single specimen dissected had a smaller left lung (0.9% SVL) than any other Uropeltis specimen examined (mean of 2.8% SVL), though some Rhinophis and Plectrurus have similary small left lungs.

REMARKS

The number and location of the type series is unclear. Gans (1966) lists only the five BMNH specimens, while McDiarmid et al. (1999) list the same five, plus the NMW specimen, while doubting its validity as a type. Wallach et al. (2014) clarify that the MNHN specimen was sent from the BMNH, and the NMW specimen may have been similarly gifted. Thus, the MNHN and NMW specimens may be two of the original five BMNH specimens. We include all seven here as possible syntypes. This situation should be clarified by future researchers, and a lectotype designated.