Teretrurus hewstoni ( Beddome, 1876 )

Ganesh, S. R. & Channakeshava Murthy, B. H., 2022, Taxonomy of the shieldtail snake genus Teretrurus Beddome, 1886 (Serpentes: Uropeltidae) with a revised key and remarks on the geographic gaps in the Western Ghats, Peninsular India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 122 (1), pp. 25-35 : 29-30

Teretrurus hewstoni ( Beddome, 1876)

( Figure 1 , 2 , 4 )

1876. Platyplectrurus hewstoni Beddome, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1876 : pp. 701

Taxonomic History: This species was first described as Platyplectrurus hewstoni by Beddome (1876) based on holotype collected from Manantoddy [=Mananthavadi] (11.779˚ N 76.002 ˚E; 900 m asl) in the Wayanad. Subsequently, Beddome (1886) transferred it to the genus Teretrurus and also relegated its status as a subspecies of T. sanguineus . Boulenger (1890) synonymized it under Platyplectrurus sanguineus . Boulenger (1893) and Smith (1943) maintained this synonymy, and its status remains the same till date.

Material examined (n=1): ZSI / WGRC /V-3124, femalecoll. B.H.C.K. Murthy and party from Manikunnu Mala, in Meppadi, Wayanad district, Kerala, India .

Differential Diagnosis: A species of Teretrurus endemic to Wayanad Hills, possessing a distinct supraocular shield (vs. lacking in T. rhodogaster ), with much lower ventral counts 120-128 (vs. 130-136 in T. travancoricus ; 142-150 in T. sanguineus ).

Description and variation: Measurements in mm: snoutvent length: 159; tail length: 4.5; head length: 5.7; head width: 3; body width: 3.3; eye diameter: 0.7; eye-snout distance: 1.8; inter-orbital distance: 2.5; inter-narial distance: 0.8. Habitus: Small-bodied, trunk cylindrical to slightly compressed, especially near tail; body fairly slender; head not distinct from neck, as wide as midbody; snout fairly rounded, ovoid in profile, not pointed; tail small, abruptly ending in a short pointed spur. Scalation: scales smooth, cycloid, without apical pits; head scales lacking pre-, post-oculars; supraocular and temporal present; eye covered under ocular scale, partially fused; prefrontal distinctly shorter than frontal or parietal; mental groove absent; dorsal scales in 15:15:15 rows; supralabials 4/4; infralabials 4/4; ventrals 122; subcaudals 7 pairs; terminal caudal scales weakly keeled, with a sharp projection in the end. Coloration: dorsum drab brownish grey having mild orange stripes along the interstitial regions of the scales; parietal-occipital regions with a weak reddish orange collar mark and similar coloredspeckles on sides; venter orange (turning creamy yellow in preservative) densely mottled with blackish brown reticulations; eye black.

Distribution and Natural History: This species is distributed only north of the Palghat Gap, in the Central Western Ghats, in Wayanad region. The authors found this species in Manikunnu Mala, near M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation there in Puthoorvayal (11.604˚N, 76.106˚E; 950 m asl) near Meppadi-Kalpetta region in Waynad district , Kerala during August 2015. The snake was encountered during daytime, resting under fallen logs near secondary gallery forests adjoining plantations.

Figures

Figure 1. Map of southern India showing the distribution of Teretrurus species, in the Western Ghats.

Figure 2. Preserved specimens of Teretrurus species: (a) T. travancoricus ZSI/WGRC/2135-6, (b) T. hewstoni ZSI/WGRC/3124, (c) T. sanguineus CSPT/S-10, (d) T. rhodogaster CSPT/S-14. Photos: S. R. Ganesh.

Figure 4. Teretrurus hewstoni: live colouration; (a) head lateral view; (b) entire dorsal view; (c) entire lateral view, (d) entire ventral view. Photos: Avrajjal Ghosh.