Uropeltis phipsonii
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Phipson's Shieldtail | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Uropeltis phipsonii photographed at Mulshi, Pune-India
|
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Uropeltis phipsonii (Mason, 1888) |
Phipson's Shieldtail Uropeltis phipsonii is a species of snake found in the Western Ghats. The species is named after H. M. Phipson, one of the founders of the Bombay Natural History Society.
Contents |
[edit] Description
Cylindrical bodied, smooth-scaled, Head narrower than the neck. tail very short appears to be cut in slant. A broad yellow stripe on each side of the tail.
[edit] Behaviour
Largely unknown, lives underground, a burrower. Active above ground after heavy rains. Eats earthworms. A docile snake that has many predators including birds and wild boar.
[edit] Distribution
Endemic to India, reported at several places around Maharastra including hills around Mumbai and Pune.
[edit] Further reading
- Boulenger, G.A. 1893 Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp.
- Mason, George E. 1888 Description of a new earth-snake of the genus Silybura from the Bombay Presidency with remarks on little known Uropeltidae. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) 22: 184-186.
- Rajendran, M. 1985 Studies in Uropeltid Snakes. Madurai University Press, Madurai.
- Whitaker, R and Captain,A. 2004 Snakes of India- the Field Guide. Draco Books, Chennai
[edit] External links
- Uropeltis phipsonii at the TIGR Reptile Database. Accessed 13 December 2007.
 |
This snake article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
