| Salty Earth Snake | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Uropeltidae |
| Genus: | Rhinophis |
| Species: | R. sanguineus |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinophis sanguineus Beddome, 1863 |
|
Salty Earth Snake (Rhinophis sanguineus) is a species of uropeltid snake found in the Western Ghats of India.
Contents |
Description after Beddome (1864: 178): "Scales of the body large, in 15 rows; of the anterior portion of the trunk sometimes in 17; rostral much produced, very sharp, conical, horny, produced back, and covering the conjunction of the nasals; nostril in front of nasal shield; eye very small and obscure, in front of ocular shield; four upper labials, 1st small, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th large; caudal disk nearly as long as tail, oblong, covered with excrescences, a red streak down the centre and one on each side. Colour of the body bluish black; belly bright red, with blackish mottlings; anal bifid; subcaudals of the male 9 or 10 pairs, each with 4 to 6 keels, and some of the approximated ventral plates and a few of the two lowest rows of scales also keeled; female subcaudals 6 or 7. Total length of large male 13 inches, female 10 inches; circumference 1 inch; abdominals 195. The brilliant red colour of the abdomen fades in spirits."
Description of Rhinophis microlepis after Beddome (1864: 179): "Scales of the body small, in 15 rows; of the anterior portion of the trunk in 17, of the neck in 19. Caudal disk oblong, orbicular, one-half the length of the tail, covered with excrescences, which are confluent into streaks; subcaudals 10; anal bifid; head-plates as in R. sanguineus, but rostral less sharp. Colour of the body greyish black, with indistinct dull yellowish white mottlings; belly yellowish white, with dark mottlings; tail beneath yellowish, with a broad black spot. Abdominals very small, 199. Total length 6 inches; circumference 61 lines"
S India (Mysore [Koppa, Kalsa], Wynaad, Nilgiris, Travancore, Tinnevelly) Type locality: Cherambady [Cherambódy], in the Wayanad (Malabar), elevation 3,500 feet", S India [Rhinophis sanguineus Beddome 1863] Type locality: Mr. Minchin's Estate in the Wayanad (elevation 3,500 feet), S India [Rhinophis microlepis Beddome 1863]