Telescopus urii RIBEIRO-JÚNIOR, KOCH, FLECKS, CAMPBELL, CALVO, SPAWLS, VIDAL & MEIRI, 2025
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Telescopus urii
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Telescopus urii RIBEIRO-JÚNIOR, KOCH, FLECKS, CAMPBELL, CALVO, SPAWLS, VIDAL & MEIRI 2025: 38 Tarbophis dhara — PARKER 1949. Tarbophis guentheri — WERNER 1898 Tarbophis guentheri — FLOWER 1933 Tarbophis guentheri — PARKER 1949 Telescopus dhara — LOVERIDGE 1955 Telescopus dhara — ZINNER 1974 Telescopus dhara — ZINNER 1977 Telescopus dhara — ZINNER 1985 |
| Distribution | Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt (Sinai), NW Saudi Arabia Type locality: Ma’ale Efra-rayim, Shomeron (Samaria), West Bank (32.07°N, 35.40°E), Palestine. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: TAU-R 13300, adult female, collected by Zahi on 5 September 1986 (Figs 14A–E, 16). Paratypes (2): TAU-R 16454, adult male, collected at Moshav Tomer, Dead Sea, West Bank (32.02°N, 35.43°E), by A. Bar on 23 July 2012 (Fig. 14F); TAU-R 17954, adult male, at Shivta Junction, Israel (30.95°N, 34.59°E), by A. Bar on 22 July 2016 (Fig. 14G). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Telescopus urii is distinguished from all other species of Telescopus by the combination of the following characters: (1) 21 dorsal scales at the anterior body; (2) 21 dorsal scales at midbody; (3) 13–15 dorsal scales at the posterior body; (4) a single anal scale; (5) two temporals with different sizes (lower temporal larger and/or longer than the upper one) or both scales subequal in size and small; (6) two pairs of chin shields; (7) 223–247 (X = 230.0) ventral scales; (8) 56–67 (X = 61.1) subcaudals; (9) 234–258 (X = 243.8) dorsal scales; (10) parietal scale not contacting lower temporal scale; (11) an irregular pair of dorsal scales bordering the mid-posterior border of parietal scales, with an almost straight (slightly irregular) suture between them; (12) presence of paired scales on posterior head, following the scale bordering the mid-posterior portion of parietal scales; (13) parietal scales with mid-posterior border feebly pointed to rhomboid, directed lateroposteriorly; (14) two to four (X = 2.9) rows of gular scales between the first pair of chin shields and preventral scale; (15) 13–16 (X = 14.4) gular scales in a transverse row between the last infralabials; (16) absence of apical pits on dorsal scales distally; (17) dorsal head similar in colour to the dorsal body or lighter (greyish orange or brownish orange); (18) ventral body cream; (19) dorsal body mostly greyish brown or with short and narrow, transverse lighter stripes along the body (light grey, greyish brown, or cream); (20) lateral process of palatine present; (21) maxillary nerve foramen in palatine present; (22) bones of palatine–pterygoid articulation separated, not meeting each other; (23) medial ridge of parietal present, fused within limits of squamosal; (24) posteriorly directed processes on the supraoccipital present; (25) 91.8%–123.7% the relative length of compound bone in females; (26) 46.8%–67.7% the relative length of dentary; (27) vomer ring complete, with lamina fenestrated; (28) enlarged posterior maxillary teeth; (29) anterior border of both frontal bones with medial V-shaped indention; and (30) contact between supratemporal–parietal bones. Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 24177 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Synonymy: Previsouly confused with T. dhara and T. guentheri. For a longer list of chresonyms see Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025: 38. Distribution: for a map of localities see Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025: 40 (Figure 16). |
| Etymology | Named after Uri Roll (1975, Israel), who is making major contributions to the knowledge of the distributions and conservation needs of reptiles and other animals in Israel and worldwide. |
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