Uropeltis caudomaculata GOWER, DAS, DEEPAK, GERARD & NARAYANAN, 2024
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Uropeltis caudomaculata
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| Higher Taxa | Uropeltidae, Henophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Tailspot uropeltis, Tailspot shieldtail |
| Synonym | Uropeltis caudomaculata GOWER, DAS, DEEPAK, GERARD & NARAYANAN 2024 Uropeltis dindigalensis — GANESH et al. 2008 Uropeltis cf. dindigalensis — CHANDRAMOULI & GANESH 2010 Uropeltis cf. dindigalensis — GANESH et al. 2014 Uropeltis pulneyensis — HUTTON & DAVID 2008 Uropeltis pulneyensis — Chaitanya et al. 2018 Uropeltis pulneyensis — DEEPAK et al. 2022 (in part) Uropeltis pulneyensis — GANESH et al. 2023 (in part) Uropeltis cf. pulneyensis — GANESH et al. 2022 |
| Distribution | India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala) Type locality: “High Wavys” (= High Wavy Mountains = Meghamalai), Tamil Nadu, India (Fig. 3), 3,000–5,000 feet elevation (914–1,524 m). |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: BMNH 1955.1.2.69, female (Fig. 2 in Gower et al. 2024). Collected by Angus F. Hutton. No collection date recorded in catalogue, but specimen accessioned into the London collection on 2 January, 1955, and was probably collected between 1946 and 1948 (see Hutton & David 2008). Paratypes (n = 7). BMNH 1955.1.2.68 (female), 1955.1.2.70 (male), 1955.1.2.71 (male), and 1955.1.2.72 (female), same data as for holotype. BNHS 3765 (Figs. 4, 5), female, collected from Manalar, Meghmalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu (9.621255° N, 77.340202° E, 1,541m asl) by J.D. Gerard on 24th July 2021. BNHS 3763 and BNHS 3764 (Fig. 4), female, collected from Yellapetty, Munnar, Kerala (10.119513° N, 77.206169° E, 1,952 m asl) by S. Das on 7th February 2022 and 15th March 2023, respectively. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A Uropeltis with more than 200 ventral scales, 17 dorsal scale rows at midbody and a moderately developed tail shield (tail Type I of Smith 1943: 73) that differs from U. ocellata (and all currently accepted synonyms of that species) in having a substantially longer rostral shield that is 34–41% (mean 37.5) of head length (distance between snout tip and posterior edge of the fourth supralabial) versus 22–31% (mean 28.4). Uropeltis bhupathyi sp. nov. differs from the only other congener with > 200 ventrals and 17 dorsal scale rows at midbody, U. macrorhyncha, in having a frontal that is wider than long versus longer than wide. The frontal in sampled U. macrorhyncha is less than 24% of head length versus > 30% in U. bhupathyi sp. nov. Even if some U. nitida are found to have more than 200 ventrals (see final paragraph of Materials and Methods), the types of that species differ substantially from U. bhupathyi sp. nov. in having much shorter rostrals (27–31% of head length; mean = 29.8%) and pale blotches along the venter. See Fig. 1 for graphical summary of these diagnostic head and head shield features. The holotype of Uropeltis liura (Günther, 1875) has 183 ventrals (pers. obs.). Rajendran (1985) reported ventral counts ranging from 182–208 in U. liura, though Pyron et al. (2016: 492) questioned whether Rajendran’s population was conspecific with topotypic U. liura. Whatever the correct identification is, we are confident that the new species described here is not conspecific with Rajendran’s U. liura (from the far south of the Western Ghats) because the latter differs from U. bhupathyi sp. nov. in lacking lateral stripes anteriorly and in having up to 12 subcaudals, large pale (yellow) patches ventrally forming cross bars, and a relatively shorter rostral. (Gower et al. 2024) |
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