Uropeltis grandis (BEDDOME, 1867)
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Higher Taxa | Uropeltidae, Henophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Smith's Earth Snake |
Synonym | Rhinophis grandis BEDDOME 1867 (non Uropeltis grandis KELLART 1857) Silybura grandis — BEDDOME 1886: 11 Silybura grandis — BOULENGER 1893: 148 Uropeltis grandis — SMITH 1943: 85 Uropeltis smithi GANS 1966 (nomen novum) Uropeltis smithi — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 151 Uropeltis smithi — DAS 2003 Uropeltis smithi — WALLACH et al. 2014: 782 Uropeltis grandis — PYRON et al. 2016 |
Distribution | India (Anaimalai hills, 4,000—4,700 feet, Kerala). Type locality: „Anamallay forests in moist woods at 4,000 feet elevation", S India |
Reproduction | ovovivparous |
Types | Syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.16.52; MNHN 1895.0079. |
Diagnosis | Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (605 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
Comment | Synonymy: R. grandis BEDDOME 1867 is a secondary junior homonym of Uropeltis grandis KELAART 1857 and has therefore been replaced by GANS 1966. The name U. smithi Gans, 1966 was created as a replacement for Rhinophis grandis Beddome, 1867. A possible issue of homonymy was created when Rhinophis grandis Beddome, 1867 was transferred to Uropeltis by Smith (1943), since U. grandis Kelaart, 1853 was a pre-existing name. Gans (1966) thus erected U. smithi as a nomen novum for Rhinophis grandis Beddome, 1867, with the same type series and locality. However, Tennent (1861) had long since relegated U. grandis Kelaart, 1853 to the synonymy of Pseudotyphlops philippinus (Müller, 1832), which Pyron et al. 2016 renamed as R. saffragamus (Kelaart, 1853) n. comb. |
Etymology | Named after Latin grandis, meaning "big". It references the size of this species (~47cm length, ~12mm diameter) among its cogeners |
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