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Fowlea asperrimus (BOULENGER, 1891)

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Boulenger's Keelback 
SynonymTropidonotus asperrimus BOULENGER 1891: 281
Tropidonotus asperrimus — BOULENGER 1893: 232
Natrix piscator asperrimus — SMITH 1943
Natrix asperrimus — TAYLOR 1950: 567
Xenochrophis asperrimus — DAS 1996: 59
Xenochrophis asperrimus — VOGEL & DAVID 2006
Xenochrophis asperrimus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 797
Fowlea asperrimus — PURKAYASTHA et al. 2019 
DistributionSri Lanka

Type locality: Ceylon  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: BMNH 1946.1.13.33– 34, BMNH 1946.1.12.43, BMNH 1946.1.15.22–23, BMNH 1946.1.15.17, BMNH 1946.1.15.30, BMNH 1946.1.7.60–61, BMNH 1946.1.12.74–75, BMNH 1946.1.12.85. 
DiagnosisThis species is characterized by (1) a peculiar dorsal pattern made of broad, dark, confl uent blotches on a paler background anteriorly, separated blotches posteriorly; (2) a broad, subrectangular crossbar on the nape, as in X. schnurrenbergerri but even wider; (3) two narrow subocular streaks; (4) a venter uniform, with the ventrals darker only on the outermost edges or their tips; (5) a high number of ventrals in both sexes. Furthermore it differs from Xenochrophis sp. by a higher number of ventrals in males and by a lower number of subcaudals and a shorter tail in females [from VOGEL & DAVID 2006]. 
CommentSynonymy: Has been confused with Xenochrophis piscator (see WALL 1921: 91 for comment). Smith (1943) regardced it as a color variation of X. piscator. 
References
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1891. Description of new oriental reptiles & batrachians. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) 6: 279-283 - 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
  • 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.
  • Janzen, P.; Klaas, P. & Ziesmann, S. 2007. Sri Lankas Schlangenfauna. Draco 7 (30): 56-64 - get paper here
  • Jayaneththi, Hareschandra Bandula 2015. Vertebrate fauna of Morankanda-Mukalana secondary forest patch in Sri Lanka: A checklist reported from 2004-2008 survey. RUHUNA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 6: 21- 41 - get paper here
  • Karunarathna, Suranjan D. M. S. and A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe 2011. A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE REPTILE FAUNA IN NILGALA FOREST AND ITS VICINITY, MONARAGALA DISTRICT, SRI LANKA. Taprobanica 3 (2): 69-76 - get paper here
  • Purkayastha, Jayaditya; JATIN KALITA, Rajeev Kungur Brahma, Robin Doley, MADHURIMA DAS 2018. A review of the relationships of Xenochrophis cerasogaster Cantor, 1839 (Serpentes: Colubridae) to its congeners. Zootaxa 4514 (1): 126-136, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4514.1.10 - 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
  • RODRIGO, R.K.; U.K.G.K. PADMALAL, C.N.B. BAMBARADENIYA, V.A.M.P.K SAMARAWICKRAMA, N. PERERA, M.S.J. PERERA, T.N. PERIES 2006. COMPARISON OF HERPETOFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN THREE WETLAND IN HABITATS THE SOUTH-EAST COAST OF SRI LANKA. Wildlanka 1 (1): - 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.
  • Taylor, Edward H. 1950. The snakes of Ceylon. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 33 (14): 519-603 - get paper here
  • Vogel, G. & Patrick David 2006. On the taxonomy of the Xenochrophis piscator complex (Serpentes, Natricidae). Herpetologica Bonnensis II: 241-246 - get paper here
  • VOGEL, Gernot & Patrick DAVID 2012. A revision of the species group of Xenochrophis piscator (Schneider, 1799) (Squamata: Natricidae). Zootaxa 3473: 1–60 - get paper here
  • 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.
 
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