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Aspidura trachyprocta COPE, 1860

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Common Rough-sided Snake 
SynonymAspidura trachyprocta COPE 1860: 75
Aspidura trachyprocta — BOULENGER 1893: 313
Aspidura trachyprocta — WALL 1921: 209
Aspidura trachyprocta — SMITH 1943: 337
Aspidura trachyprocta — GANS & FETCHO 1982: 304
Aspidura trachyprocta — DAS 1996: 54
Aspidura trachyprocta — JANZEN et al. 2007
Aspidura trachyprocta — WALLACH et al. 2014: 59 
DistributionSri Lanka

Type locality: Ceylon  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ANSP 3309 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: This species of Aspidura is characterized by a preocular scale that forms part of the anterior border of the orbit; a prefrontal scale that forms the remaining portion of the anterior border of the orbit and contacts supralabials two and three; having the lower postocular longer than the upper; both postoculars in contact with the parietal scale; and the anterior pair of the two pairs of chin shields two to three times the length of the posterior pair. Fifteen dorsal scale rows are present along the body, except in the region of the head, where two additional rows occur near the dorsal midline. These never persist beyond ventral number 16. The ventral counts range from 128 to 151 (mean = 137.66 +/- .84, N = 140) and subcaudals from 11 to 26 (mean = 18.70 +/- .74, N = 139). The subcaudals are undivided. Snout-vent lengths range from 85 mm to 383 mm. 8 tail lengths from 8 mm to 40 mm, midbody diameters from 2.5 mm to 13.9 mm (Table 2). Females tend to have more ventrals, and shorter tails than males, but males and females do not differ in total length. Fig. 2 compares the major counts, Fig. 3 the body proportions, and Figs. 7, 9, and 12 illustrate specimens. (Gans & Fetcho 1982) 
CommentReports from Maldive Islands (Male Atoll) are erroneaous. 
References
  • Boettger, O. 1892. Listen von Kriechtieren und Lurchen aus dem tropischen Asien und aus Papuasien. Ber. Tät. Offenb. Ver. Nat., Offenbach, 29 - 32: 65 - 164 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1860. Catalogue of Colubridae in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1860: 74-79 - get paper here
  • Das, I. & De Silva, A. 2005. Photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of Sri Lanka. New Holland Publishers, 144 pp.
  • de Silva, A. 1998. Snakes of Sri Lanka: a checklist and an annotated bibliography. Dept. Wildlife Conservation/ GEF /UNDP/ FAO, Colombo.
  • Gans C; Fetcho J R 1982. The Sri Lankan genus Aspidura (Serpentes, Reptilia, Colubridae). Annals of the Carnegie Museum 51 (14): 271-316 - get paper here
  • Janzen, P.; Klaas, P. & Ziesmann, S. 2007. Sri Lankas Schlangenfauna. Draco 7 (30): 56-64 - get paper here
  • Kottawa-Arachchi, J.D. & R. N. Gamage 2015. Herpetofaunal richness in Lippakelle Tea Estate, Sri Lanka. TAPROBANICA 7 (4): 268–271 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Pyron, R. Alexander; H.K. Dushantha Kandambi, Catriona R. Hendry, Vishan Pushpamal, Frank T. Burbrink, Ruchira Somaweera 2013. Genus-level phylogeny of snakes reveals the origins of species richness in Sri Lanka. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66 (3): 969-978 - get paper here
  • Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London. 583 pp.
  • Ukuwela, Kanishka D.B. & Nayana P. K. Dawundasekara 2012. Color Variations, Sexual Dimorphism, and Population Structure of Aspidura trachyprocta (Serpentes: Colubridae) in an Anthropogenic Habitat in Sri Lanka. Russ. J. Herpetol. 19 (1): 70–74
  • Wall, FRANK 1921. Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo Mus. (H. R. Cottle, govt. printer), Colombo. xxii, 581 pages - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • WICKRAMASINGHE, L. J. MENDIS; DULAN RANGA VIDANAPATHIRANA, H. K. DUSHANTHA KANDAMBI, R. ALEXANDER PYRON, NETHU WICKRAMASINGHE 2017. A new species of Aspidura Wagler, 1830 (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) from Sri Pada sanctuary (Peak Wilderness), Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 4347 (2): 275-292 - get paper here
 
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