Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 May 2021 | 13(6): 18508–18517
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6736.13.6.18508-18517
#6736 | Received 22 September 2020 | Final
received 29 April 2021 | Finally accepted 03 May 2021
A new species of shieldtail snake (Squamata: Uropeltidae:
Uropeltis) from the Bengaluru uplands, India
S.R. Ganesh 1, K.G. Punith 2, Omkar D. Adhikari 3 &
N.S. Achyuthan 4
1 Chennai Snake Park, Rajbhavan Post, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600022, India.
2 WeRoar
(Wild Animal Emancipation Reptile Oriented Awareness & Rescue), Tumkur, Karnataka 572102, India.
3 Natural history collections,
Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, S.B.S. Road, Mumbai,
Maharashtra 400023, India.
4 Center
for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka
560012, India.
1 snakeranglerr@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2
punith.kg04@gmail.com, 3 proahaetulla@gmail.com, 4 peltopelor@gmail.com
ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5165B01C-B278-45D3-AACD-C540D260D02F
Editor: Anonymity
requested. Date of publication:
26 May 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Ganesh, S.R., K.G. Punith, O.D. Adhikari & N.S. Achyuthan
(2021). A new species of shieldtail snake (Squamata: Uropeltidae:
Uropeltis) from the Bengaluru uplands, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(6): 18508–18517. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6736.13.6.18508-18517
Copyright: © Ganesh et al. 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Author details: Dr. S.R. Ganesh is the Deputy Director and
Scientist at the Chennai Snake Park, conducting research on reptiles and
amphibians of southern India. His research themes include documenting the
diversity of under-explored ecoregions, updating and refining species
characterizations, and elucidating modern-day distribution patterns with
respect to southern India’s herpetofauna.
K.G. Punith
is a wildlife conservationist, who runs the non-governmental organization
WEROAR (Wild Animal Emancipation Reptile Oriented Awareness and Rescue). The
organization is creating awareness about nature conservation among Tumkuru (Karnataka, India) public and is also working
towards the mitigation of human-wild animal conflicts in the same area. Omkar
D. Adhikari is a Junior research fellow in Bombay Natural History
Society (BNHS) Museum, working on digitization and maintenance of the natural
history collections. His special interest lies in the taxonomy, life history
evolution, diversity, ecology, and biogeography of the reptiles in India and
Southeast Asia. Achyuthan N. Srikanthan is a researcher
with the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
studying the systematics, biogeography, ecology of herpetofauna, as well as ecomorphology, evolutionary osteology and specialized
integument microstructure characterization of reptiles. Has now initiated his
Ph.D. at the Clark University, USA.
Author contributions: SRG led the diagnosis of the new
species against the comparative materials that he had examined and wrote
the manuscript with inputs from NSA and ODA. KGP led the field work and
gathered data from the live uncollected specimen and photo-documented the
subjects. ODA examined and scored morphological details of historical paratypes
and cross-checked data from the recent type specimens, while registering them
with the museum. NSA conducted the field surveys and roadkill specimen
collections, examined the type specimens and scored morphological details. All
authors equally contributed in fine tuning and refining the draft and approved
the final version.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to our respective
organisations for encouraging our research activities – the executive chairman
and board of trustees of the Chennai Snake Park Trust (CSPT), the KS Lab, Drs. Kartik Shanker, S.P.
Vijayakumar and all the lab members at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES,
IISc) and the director and curator of the Bombay Natural History Society
(BNHS). SRG thanks Raghunath R Belur & Sugandhi Gadadhar for kindly sharing photos of Nandi Durga and S.D. Gnanaolivu for
help with articles on the flora of Nandi Durga. Thanks are due to Smriti Iyer,
for helping with the camera and to Drs. Sujay and Nikita for putting us in touch, thereby being
instrumental for our collaboration on this and our other joint works.
Abstract: A new species of shieldtail snake, Uropeltis
jerdoni, is here described based on eight
specimens from Devarayana Durga
and Nandi Durga that are under-researched hills near
Bengaluru in southern India. The new
species is a member of the Uropeltis ceylanica group that can be distinguished from related
taxa as follows: a truncate and flattened caudal shield with a circumscribed
concave disc; part of rostral visible from above subequal to its distance from
frontal; rostral partially separating nasal scales; 17: 17: 17 dorsal scale
rows; 140–148 ventral scales; 7–9 pairs of subcaudals; dark blackish-grey
above, powdered with minute yellow specks, yellow lateral stripes on neck and
tail; ventrolateral region with yellow mottling; venter black. This new species
is currently known only from two ranges Devarayana Durga and Nandi Durga but judging
by the presence of similar, adjacent massifs, is hypothesized to be present in
nearby hillocks surrounding Bengaluru City.
Keywords: Allopatry, colouration, Devarayana Durga, Nandi Durga, peninsular India, scalation, Uropeltis
jerdoni sp. nov.
INTRODUCTION
Snakes of the family Uropeltidae Müller, 1832 are an under-researched group of
small and unassuming fossorial snakes from the Indian subcontinent (Beddome 1886; Smith 1943; Rajendran 1985; Whitaker &
Captain 2004; Wallach et al. 2014). The
genus Uropeltis Cuvier, 1829 currently
consists of 25 species occurring in the hills of peninsular India (Pyron et al.
2016; Jins et al. 2018; Ganesh & Achyuthan 2020). The
first species in this genus that was described was Uropeltis
ceylanica Cuvier, 1829, a species that is
currently considered to be a complex (Gower et al. 2008; Ganesh et al. 2014)
and with an erroneous type locality ‘Ceylon’ that is outside the known
distribution of the species (see Pyron et al. 2016). Of late, two species U. bicatenata (Günther, 1864) and U. shorttii (Beddome, 1863) previously
considered invalid were resurrected and one species U. madurensis
(Beddome, 1878) that was previously considered a
subspecies, was elevated to a full species rank (see Gower et al. 2008; Ganesh
et al. 2014). In recent times, two new
species Uropeltis bhupathyi
Jins, Sampaio, Gower, 2018 and Uropeltis
rajendrani Ganesh & Achyuthan,
2020 were described from the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, respectively
(Jins et al. 2018; Ganesh & Achyuthan
2020).
These snakes, owing to their
naturally-patchy distribution and high beta diversity, that is a diversified
multi-species assemblage of fauna constituted by each having a small, typically
non-overlapping distribution range, resulting in turn-over among hill ranges (sensu Socolar et al. 2016), were
hypothesized to be potential model organisms for evolutionary studies in the
Indian peninsula (Cadle et al. 1990; Bossuyt et al. 2004; Ganesh 2015; Pyron et al. 2016). Molecular phylogenetic studies reveal that
this genus of snakes radiated rapidly and recently during early Miocene, some
20 million years ago (Cyriac & Kothandaramiah 2017).
Despite these works, the fact is that our current understanding of the
diversity and distribution of the genus Uropeltis
remains incomplete. Here, we describe a
new species of Uropeltis representing an
innominate population from a locality that is previously-unsampled for shieldtail snakes, a
hill-dominated region situated around Bengaluru City that is recently
recognised as an important area for herpetological diversity and endemism (see
Agarwal et al. 2019).
MATERIALS
& METHODS
The current work is based on our
examination of 39 preserved specimens (representing 16 congeners) and the type
specimens as well as live uncollected specimens of the new species that is described
herein. During our expeditions in the
uplands of Bengaluru, we came across three specimens (two dead, one alive) that
we could assign to the genus Uropeltis sensu Pyron et al. (2016) in lacking mental grove, supraocular, postocular or
temporal scales and having a dorso-ventrally
depressed tail with a scaly caudal disc.
The road kill specimens were noticed having apparent breakage of certain
scales in the ventral aspect and indentations in parts of their trunk
suggesting a run over by a small vehicle.
During our perusal of uropeltid collections in the Bombay Natural
History Society Museum, we came across six historical specimens that fully
match with the new species. We photographed
the subjects using high resolution digital cameras. We scored morphological details like
scalation, measurements and colour patterns with the help of magnifying hand
lenses (5 X optical zoom). We measured
the preserved specimens using vernier calipers (LC 0.1 mm) except for snout-vent length that was
measured with a standard measuring tape (LC 1 mm). We followed Smith (1943) for definition and
terminology of morphological characters, except for ventral scales for which
Gower & Ablett (2006) counting method was followed. Symmetrical head scalation values were given
in left / right order. Dentition
characters were scored by counting one half (lateral side) of both the upper
jaw (maxillary) and the lower jaw (mandibular/dentary). Teeth were counted by manually opening the
preserved specimen’s mouth and inserting a cotton plug. Counts were done viewing through a Celestron 20–200 X zoom magnification illuminated
microscope. A linear incision in the
subcaudal was done on the preserved specimens to check for genitalia. Comparisons and differential diagnosis are
provided based on the series of preserved voucher specimens in collections that
we examined (see Appendix 1) and also on our perusal of original description
papers and subsequent taxonomic treatises (see literature cited). The new species belongs to Smith’s (1943) Group
II, in having an obliquely truncate tail, terminating in a thickened,
circumscribed, concave caudal disc covered with multicarinate
scales (see Smith 1943). Comparisons are
presented as differential diagnosis, following the pattern in works on the genus
Uropeltis by Ganesh et al. (2014) and Ganesh
& Achyuthan (2020). Museum abbreviations are as follows:
CSPT—Chennai Snake Park Trust, Chennai, India; CESS—Centre for Ecological
Sciences / Snakes, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, India; BNHS—Bombay
Natural History Society, Mumbai, India; MAD—Madras Government Museum, Chennai,
India.
TAXONOMY
Uropeltis jerdoni sp. nov.
Jerdon’s Shieldtail
Snake
(Image 1A–G, 3A–B)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5F121750-8547-4429-8E9E-49D618D31F89
Holotype: BNHS 3562, adult female, a
rather intact roadkill near village, coll. KGP and NSA in January 2020.
Type locality: Devarayana
Durga (13.371˚N, 77.210˚E; 1,060 m) in Tumkur District, Karnataka, India.
Paratypes (n= 7): BNHS 3563, adult female, animal
in early ecdysis, same data as holotype; BNHS 216 a–b, BNHS 217 a–b, BNHS 218
a–b, coll. Frank Wall from Nandi Durga (13.3700N,
77.6810E; 1,470 m) in Chikballapur
District, Karnataka, India; coll. date unknown.
Referred specimen (n= 1). One live uncollected adult, sex
unknown, same data as holotype.
Etymology: Patronym named in genitive
singular case, honouring Thomas Caverhill Jerdon (1811–1872), a pioneering English naturalist who
described some of the earliest reptiles from the Bengaluru uplands.
Diagnosis: A species of Uropeltis
known from the Bengaluru uplands, characterized by the following combination of
characters: caudal shield truncate, with a distinct thickened circumscribed
concave disc; part of rostral visible from above subequal to its distance from
frontal; rostral scale partially separating nasal scales; snout fairly pointed,
subovoid; eye diameter 3/4th that of
ocular shield; supralabials 4; infralabials 3–4;
dorsal scale rows 17:17:17; ventral scales 140–148; subcaudal scales 7–9 pairs;
dorsum dark blackish-grey overall with minute yellow speckling; an yellow
stripe on either sides on neck and tail; ventrolateral region distinctly
mottled with yellow; venter uniform dark blackish-grey, rarely with a few yellow
dots.
Description of holotype
Habitus: A fairly small but thick-set and
robust shieldtail snake; forebody mildly thicker than
the rest of trunk; head not evident, narrower than neck; snout fairly pointed
in profile, subovoid; eyes large, ¾ the size of
ocular scale; tail with a distinctive flat, thickened, circumscribed disc.
Measurements in mm: snout to vent length 186.2; tail
length 11.1; maximum body width 7.1; head length 7.7; head width 4.6; head
depth 3.8; internarial distance 1.26; interorbital distance 2.81 at the front
of the ocular and 3.41 at the rear of the ocular; eye to snout tip distance
3.67; eye to lip distance 1.12; snout-parietal distance 3.0; posterior end of
rostral to posterior end of parietal distance 5.14; tail shield length 9.91; tail shield width 6.12; tail shield
depth 3.67; parietal scale length 3.32; parietal scale width 2.71; frontal
scale length 1.45; frontal scale width 1.78; ocular scale length 1.41;
prefrontal scale length 1.17; midbody ventral scale width 1.33; midbody basal
coastal scale width 2.31.
Scalation: Rostral visible from above,
partly dividing nasals, anteriorly, but posteriorly in contact with one
another, behind rostal; part of rostral visible from
above subequal to its distance from frontal; nostril piercing nasal, pointed
towards rostrum and first supralabial; nasals
slightly smaller than prefrontal; ocular scale slightly smaller than nasal and/
or prefrontal; frontal hexagonal, longer than broad; broader anteriorly,
posteriorly produced towards a tapering point, wedged deeper within the midline
contact of parietals; parietals large, as large as distance between snout tip
and anterior end of frontal; ocular scale separating contact between prefrontal
and parietal; ocular, in contact with frontal; supralabials
4/4, first supralabial the smallest of all head
scales, rectangular; second supralabial subequal to
rostral, higher than broad; third supralabial broader
than high, higher anteriorly, shorter posteriorly; fourth supralabial
the largest, subequal to frontal, smaller than parietal; infralabials 3/4,
first infralabial large, second the largest, third/ fourth ones small and
elongate; scales overall smooth and glossy, imbricate, cycloid; dorsal scale
rows: 17: 17: 17; ventrals 146, 1.5 times as wide as
adjacent scale rows; anal scale paired, subequal to ventral scale but larger
than subcaudal scale; subcaudals 9, paired; caudal scales across length of tail
shield 8; caudal scales across width of tail shield 4; caudals
scales with 2–5 keels per scale; tail shield ending with two projecting spurs.
Colouration: Dorsum lustrous dark blackish
grey overall; anterior end (head, neck) with a brownish tinge, while the
posterior end (tail shield) steely bluish-black; dorsum with very fine, scarce
yellow powdering all along the trunk from head to near pre-cloacal region; tail
and tail shield devoid of yellow patterning above; a distinct pair of yellow
ventrolateral stripes from snout tip till tail shield; the yellow stripes
rather evident from infralabials till neck, from where onwards the yellow
colouration becomes restricted only to scale borders of the last rows of
coastal scales; the central part of coastal scales and almost whole of the
ventral scales totally black, rarely with any yellow intrusions; thick yellow
stripes along subcaudals that widen and meet across the anal shield; tongue
dark reddish-brown, darker at the tips; iris black.
Dentition: On each side of the jaw, eight
maxillary (upper jaw) teeth and five mandibular or dentary (lower jaw) teeth
present; teeth conical, visibly curved inwards, uniform in size throughout,
except for the two front-most teeth that are slightly smaller; diastema absent.
Variation shown by paratypes: Agreeing well with the holotype
in general and showing the following intraspecific variations: dorsal scale
rows 17:17:17; supralabials 4; infralabials 3/4; ventrals 143–148; subcaudals 7–9; snout to vent length
147–201 mm; tail length 8–13 mm; maximum body width 5.2–7.0 mm; head length
7.0–8.8 mm; head width 3.0–4.3 mm; head depth 3.1–4.1 mm; internarial distance
1.2–1.9 mm; interorbital distance 2.9–3.4 mm front, 3.2–3.7 mm back; eye to
snout tip distance 3.0–3.9 mm; eye to lip distance 1.0–1.1 mm; snout-parietal
distance 2.8–4.9 mm; posterior end of rostral to posterior end of parietal
distance 4.1–5.8 mm; tail shield length 7.3–9.3 mm; tail shield width 4.8–5.9
mm; tail shield depth 3.4–5.1 mm; parietal scale length 2.0–3.5 mm; parietal
scale width 1.4–2.8 mm; frontal scale length 1.5–3.7 mm; frontal scale width
1.6–2.9 mm; ocular scale length 1.0–2.1 mm; prefrontal scale length 1.2–1.5 mm;
midbody ventral scale width 2.1–3.9 mm; midbody basal coastal scale width
1.1–1.8 mm. Because the paratype from Devarayana Durga was still in
ecdysis, its colouration differed to a more brownish than dark blackish
colouration overall. The paratypes from
Nandi Durga were understandably paler and less
intense in colouration, due to long years of preservation. They had overall dull brown body colour with
straw yellow side stripes and ventral patches.
One historical paratype, BNHS 216a has left lower jaw and right temporal
damaged and torn off. All the historical
paratypes had posterior parts of underside incised.
Distribution and Natural History: Uropeltis
jerdoni sp. nov. is a
poorly-known snake, as this is a so-far unsampled population about which
published literature has not dealt with (see Pyron et al. 2016 and references
therein). Though Wall had collected this
species from “Nandydug” (=Nandi Durga),
historical literature during or after Wall’s time (e.g., Smith 1943), never
stated the occurrence of any uropeltids near about Bengaluru, except U. ellioti that belongs a different species group. The holotype and one paratype were roadkills recently collected from the Ghat
road of a hill fort temple – Devarayana Durga. These snakes
would have probably been killed the previous night by vehicle plying on the ghat road. A live
uncollected adult of unknown sex, measuring about 250 mm total length was
sighted in an earthworm farm at the type locality. The snake was dug out from underneath the
soil surface by the workmen when we authors (PKG and NSA) were present to
document biodiversity. The snake was
inoffensive and tried to dig underground when exposed and during
photography. It had blue-black dorsum;
ventrolateral yellow reticulations; black venter; concave, circumscribed tail
disc; scale rows 17:17:17; 143 ventrals; paired anal
scale; nine pairs of subcaudals, thereby matching in morphology with the
preserved specimens. To the best of our
knowledge, the only other uropeltid snake sympatric with the new species is Uropeltis cf. ellioti
(Gray, 1858), a distinctly reddish-brown coloured
species with evident, convexly-rounded tail shield (Group I of Smith 1943)
having a large yellow spot on tail tip (also see Whitaker & Captain 2004;
Pyron et al. 2016). The distribution
range of Uropeltis jerdoni
sp. nov. is a mix of deciduous vegetation distributed
within a sprawl of predominantly rocky boulder-dominated hilly terrain (Boraiah & Fathima 1970; Bhaskar & Kushalappa 1995), currently known from two peaks north of
Bengaluru – Devarayana Durga
and Nandi Durga that are 40 airline km apart. Uropeltis jerdoni
sp. nov. is hypothesized to be a primarily nocturnal,
worm-eating, viviparous, fossorial snake that is particularly active during
rain, like most members of its family (Rajendran 1985).
Comparisons and differential
diagnosis: The new
species is here compared with the 25 recognized species of Uropeltis
from India (see Pyron et al. 2016; Jins et al. 2018;
Ganesh & Achyuthan 2020). By having an obliquely truncate tail
terminating in a thickened, circumscribed, concave caudal disc covered with multicarinate scales, Uropeltis
jerdoni sp. nov.
differs from the following 14 species: U. bhupathyi,
U. ellioti, U. nitida, U. ocellata, U. dindigalensis, U. beddomei, U. macroryncha, U. woodmasoni (Group-I tail shield of Smith 1943), U. grandis, U. maculata, U. petersi, U. liura, U. pulneyensis (Group-III tail shield of Smith 1943). Further, Uropeltis
jerdoni sp. nov. also
differs from the remaining congeners (after Gower et al. 2008; Ganesh et al.
2014; Ganesh & Achyuthan 2020) with a thickened,
circumscribed, caudal shield categorized under Smith’s (1943) Group II A &
B as follows (only opposing suite of character states listed): U. arcticeps (southern Western Ghats): dorsal scales
lacking a clearly defined yellow scale border; ventral scale counts much lower
(127–128); U. bicatenata (northern Western
Ghats): yellowish scalloping chain-like pattern across both sides of the body;
ventral scale count 130–141; U. broughami (southern
Western Ghats): 19 midbody scalerows; rostral scale
much produced and ridged with a dorsal keel; dorsum brown with distinct small,
yellow-black-edged transverse ocelli; ventral scale counts much higher
(181–230); U. ceylanica s. auct.
(Western Ghats): anterior dorsum without distinct yellow spots; venter lacking
a clearly defined brownish scale border; ventral scale counts much lower
(119–146; 130 in holotype – Gower et al. 2008); U. macrolepis
complex (northern Western Ghats): 15 midbody scalerows;
lower ventral scale counts (120–140); dorsum blackish-brown with yellow broken
spots forming zig-zag crossbars or annuli or a pair of distinct, thick,
yellowish-orange paravertebral stripes extending across most of the body except
near neck, where there are two large orange spots; U. madurensis
(southern Western Ghats): snout much more rounded in profile; body colour rich
brown, dorsal scales with a clearly defined yellow scale border throughout the
back, giving a yellow-reticulated
appearance; no ventrolateral yellow reticulations, but ventrals
with large alternating yellow blotches; ventral scale count 144–157; U. myhendrae (southern Western Ghats): dorsum with
brownish-black body, each scale with yellowish posterior border forming more or
less complete band or annuli; part of rostral visible from above distinctly
longer than its distance from frontal; ventral scales 139–156; U. phipsoni (northern Western Ghats): a pair of yellowish
lateral streaks along both sides of the body; part of rostral visible from
above distinctly longer than its distance from the frontal; ventral scales
138–157; U. rajendrani (southern Eastern
Ghats): ventrals 146–158; rounded snout profile; body
deep ochre brown; presence of yellow colouration in the ventral scales; part of
rostral visible from above, not much longer than its distance from frontal;
U. rubromaculata (southern Western Ghats):
presence of two large red caudal spots; much lower ventral counts (127–136); U.
rubrolineata (southern Western Ghats): presence
of two ventrolateral red stripes; much higher ventral counts (165–172); U. shorttii (southern Eastern Ghats, allopatric): dorsal
body brownish or bluish-black, with distinct yellowish annuli or crossbars;
ventral scales 137–156.
DISCUSSION
Uropeltis jerdoni
sp. nov. is the 26th species of Uropetlis to be described. Recent descriptions of Uropeltis
were either from the Western Ghats (Jins et al. 2018)
or the Eastern Ghats (Ganesh & Achyuthan
2020). But in the present case, Uropeltis jerdoni
sp. nov. is described from the intervening
region – the Bengaluru uplands, that is flanked by both the Western and the
Eastern Ghats on either sides. In fact,
the only species of shieldtail snake known from
regions in India apart from the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, is the
apparently ‘widespread’ U. ellioti (Gray, 1858) reported from most of the hilly areas across
the Indian peninsula (Smith 1943; Whitaker & Captain 2004). Thus, Uropeltis
jerdoni sp. nov. is a
previously unsampled new species of shieldtail snake
that has not been reported in literature under any incorrect names. This is in contrast to U. bhupathyi that was long-thought to be and misreported
in literature as U. ellioti (see Jins et al. 2018).
Uropeltis jerdoni sp. nov.
is described based on two, recently preserved, female road-kills (holotype and paratopotype), six historically-collected specimens and one
uncollected, unsexed, live individual (referred material). These materials originate from two, nearby
(40 airline km apart) hill ranges – Devarayana Durga (type locality) and Nandi Durga. Shieldtail snakes,
especially the diverse genus Uropeltis is a
radiation of cryptic species (Cyriac & Kodandaramiah 2017), with each of the constituent species
displaying very subtle morphological variations (Gower et al. 2008; Ganesh et
al. 2014; Jins et al. 2018; Ganesh & Achyuthan 2020) and occupying small, allopatric geographic
ranges (Pyron et al. 2013; Ganesh 2015).
In the case of U. jerdoni sp. nov. its nearest related congeners are U. shorttii of Shevaroys that is
200 airline km south off Devarayana Durga-Nandi Durga and U. ceylanica s. lat. of the equally-distant Malnad part of the Western Ghats.
The localities where Uropeltis jerdoni
sp. nov. has been recorded, the Bengaluru uplands, is
poorly inventoried for biodiversity, especially herpetofauna. T.C. Jerdon was
perhaps the foremost naturalist to explore the area in and around Bengaluru,
when he described a new gecko Cnemaspis mysoriensis (Jerdon, 1853),
over 165 years ago. Uropeltis
jerdoni sp. nov. is a
humble tribute to his pioneering efforts to inventory and describe the reptiles
of Bengaluru. In recent times, five more
new reptiles were described from places near Bengaluru—Hemidactylus
graniticolus from Harohalli
(Agarwal et al. 2011), Hemidactylus whitakeri from Kodalagurki
(Mirza et al. 2018), Cyrtodactylus srilekhae from Thathaguni
(Agarwal 2016), Hemiphyllodactylus jnana
from Kodigehalli (Agarwal et al. 2019), and a snake Lycodon deccanensis
from the same Devarayana Durga
(Ganesh et al. 2020). These works well
indicate that further explorations around Bengaluru would reveal further
reptile diversity, endemism and novelties.
As for the genus Uropeltis, the recent
taxonomic research and increase in diversity hints that more studies in this
and other genera of uropeltid snakes will add to the growing body of literature
on their increased taxonomic diversity.
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Appendix 1. List of preserved
voucher specimens studied.
Uropeltis ceylanica: MAD no number from Perambikulam; another unnumbered specimen from Cochin; MAD
1938 from Attikan (Mysore) E. Barne’s
collection, from ca. 5000 feet, in June 1938; more unnumbered specimens, from Nilgiris, Cochin and Travancore; CESS 092 from Pakshipathalam, Bramgiri, Kannur
District, Kerala; CESS 281, from Coorg, Madikeri
District, Karnataka.
Uropeltis dindigalensis: MAD no number from Sirumalai, Madura District.
Uropeltis ellioti: CESS 079, from Chemmunji, Peppara WLS,
Trivandrum District, Kerala; CSPT/S-81 from Shevaroys,
Salem District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis grandis: MAD no number from Anamalai, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis liura: CSPT/S-3, n= 2, from Madurai
hills, Madurai District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis maculata: CESS 186 from Anaimudi Shola NP, Idukki District, Kerala; MAD no number
from Anamalai, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis madurensis: CSPT/S-6, from High Wavys, Theni District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis myhendrae: CSPT/S-5, from Vannathipparai, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis nitida: CESS 408 from Nelliampathy RF, Palghat District, Kerala.
Uropeltis cf. ocellata: MAD no number from Perambikulam; more unnumbered specimens from Cochin
(Kerala) and Kodaikanal, Palni
hills (Tamil Nadu).
Uropeltis petersi: CSPT/S-7a from Kodaikanal, Dindigul District,
Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis pulneyensis: MAD 1929, n=6 collected by E.
Barnes, during April-May, from 6000‒6800 feet, Kodaikanal,
Palni hills; CSPT/S-4a, from Kodaikanal, Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis rajendrani:
BNHS 3559
(holotype), BNHS 3560, 3561 (paratypes), n=3, from Bodhamalai
hills, Salem-Namakkal Districts, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis rubromaculata: MAD no number from Anamalai, Coimbatore District; CSPT/S-7 from Anaimalai, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu; CESS 322, from Anaimalai WS, Tirupur District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis shorttii: CSPT/S-80, n= 2 from Shevaroy
Hills, Salem District, Tamil Nadu.
Uropeltis woodmasoni: CSPT/S-4, from Anaimalai, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu.