Taxonomy and Distribution of two Shieldtail Snakes <i>Uropeltis pulneyensis</i> (Beddome, 1863) and <i>Uropeltis woodmasoni</i> (Theobald, 1876) (Squamata: Uropeltidae) with Redescriptions of type Specimens
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Keywords

distribution
holotype
Palni hills
synonym
syntype
uropeltids
ZSI

How to Cite

Ganesh, S. R., Adhikari, O. D., & Srikanthan, A. N. (2023). Taxonomy and Distribution of two Shieldtail Snakes <i>Uropeltis pulneyensis</i> (Beddome, 1863) and <i>Uropeltis woodmasoni</i> (Theobald, 1876) (Squamata: Uropeltidae) with Redescriptions of type Specimens. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), 120. https://doi.org/10.17087/jbnhs/2023/v120/167608

Abstract

We redescribe two species of shieldtail snakes Uropeltis pulneyensis and Uropeltis woodmasoni and depict the syntypes and the holotype of the aforesaid species respectively from collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. We add morphological notes on both the species from new as well as historical non-type specimens stored in some Indian museums. We review the records and distributions of both the species, which reveal their presence in southern Western Ghats between the Palghat Gap and the Shencottah Gap.
https://doi.org/10.17087/jbnhs/2023/v120/167608

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