New snake found in Western Ghats

New snake found in Western Ghats

What has happened?

Just 40 cm long and iridescent brown, Bhupathy’s shieldtail is the latest addition to the snake fauna of the Western Ghats.

Location

Bhupathy’s shieldtail has been observed only in the Anaikatty Hills of Tamil Nadu

Uropeltis bhupathyi 

The snake, currently observed only in the forests of the Anaikatty hills in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district, has been named Uropeltis bhupathyi , after the late herpetologist S. Bhupathy, for his contributions to the field

Key features

• The reptile belongs to a family of snakes found only in peninsular India and Sri Lanka
• They are non-venomous, burrowing and mostly earthworm-eating, and are called shieldtails after the large, flat tips of their tails, which make them appear almost sliced off

Distinguishing feature

The new species had more than 200 scales

Shieldtail species in number

• The discovery takes the number of known species of shieldtails in India to 41
• The country is home to more than 300 snake species.