Uropeltis tricuspida GOWER, 2023
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Uropeltis tricuspida
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| Higher Taxa | Uropeltidae, Henophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Three-cusped uropeltis, Three-cusped shieldtail |
| Synonym | Uropeltis tricuspida GOWER 2023: 109 Uropeltis petersi — BOULENGER 1890, 1893 in part Uropeltis petersi — WALL 1923, in part; Uropeltis petersi — SMITH 1943, in part Uropeltis petersi — GANS 1966, in part Uropeltis petersi — WALLACH et al. 2014, in part Uropeltis petersi — PYRON et al. 2016, in part Uropeltis petersi — SAMPAIO et al. 2023, in part |
| Distribution | India (Kerala) Type locality: Sevenmalai, 4 km West of Munnar, Idukki District, Kerala, India, 2,100 m (ca. 10.075°N, 77.0417°E. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. CAS 244452 (Fig. 5), adult female based on large size, and relatively high ventral and low subcaudal count. Collected by C. Gans, C. Rajasundaram and R. A. Bonhoure on 11 June 1990 from Sevenmalai (also spelled Sevenmallay or Sivanmalai, a tea estate), 4 km West of Munnar, Idukki District, Kerala, India, 2,100 m (ca. 10.075°N, 77.0417°E, from Google Earth and Rajendran (1985: map 3), though land here is ca. 1,600 m elevation versus the reported 2,100 m). Paratypes (n = 7). CAS 244451 (male), 244453 (female), 244454 (male), 244455 (female) and 244456 (male), same data as for the holotype. CAS 244441 and 244442 (both male) collected by C. Gans, C. Rajasundaram and R. A. Bonhoure on 10 June 1990 from Sevenmalai Estate, 2 km East of Munnar, Idukki District, Kerala, India, 2,000 m. Whole-specimen photographs of these specimens are presented in Fig. 6. Other specimens: CAS (many), MNHN 1897.249 (male) from Peermad, N. Travancore, 4,000 feet; BNHS 3621 (male: voucher specimen reported as UK MW2228 by Sampaio et al. 2023) from near Munnar collected by O.V. Oommen and colleagues October 2001; BMNH 1946.1.17.8 (male). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A species of Uropeltis that differs from all congeners except U. liura, U. maculata and U. petersi in having 17 rows of dorsal scales at midbody, nasals that make contact along the midline posterior to the rostral, and that lack a flattened or mildly longitudinally convex tail shield composed of matt scales with substantial keels—instead having a strongly longitudinally convex tail tip with scales bearing low, inconspicuous ridges. Differs from U. petersi in having more ventral scales in females (178–185 versus 156–162) and more subcaudal scales (6–10 and 10–13 versus 5–6 and 10–11 in males and females, respectively), and in having a tricuspid versus bicuspid terminal scute. Differs from U. maculata in lacking large yellow spots or blotches laterally on the anterior end of the body, in having typically two versus three small, non-subcaudal scales overlapped by each anal shield, and in having a tricuspid versus bicuspid terminal scute. Differs from U. liura in having fewer ventral scales (156–174 versus 173 to >195, respectively), in having typically two versus three small, non-subcaudal scales overlapped by each anal shield, lacking yellow dots on most of the body scales on the dorsum, and in having a tricuspid versus bicuspid terminal scute. Uropeltis tricuspida sp. nov. is distinct from these three phenotypically superficially similar congeners (and all other species) also in DNA sequence data. (Gower 2023) |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after the typically three cusps on the posterior end of the terminal shield. For nomenclatural purposes, the species epithet is a noun in apposition. |
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