Ophisops jerdonii

Jerdon's Snake-Eye (Ophisops jerdonii) is a species of lizard which is distributed in east Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Description

Head moderate, feebly depressed. Upper head-shields rugose, keeled and striated; nostril lateral, pierced between 3 or 4 shields, viz. an anterior, or an upper and a lower anterior nasal and two superposed postnasals ; a large frontonasal; frequently one or two small azygos shields between the pair of prefrontals; four supraoculars, first and fourth small, the two principal separated from the supraciliaries by a series of granules; occipital small, sometimes a little broader than the interparietal, with which it forms a suture; subocular bordering the lip, between the fourth and fifth (or third and fourth) upper labials; temporal scales small, keeled; one or two large subtemporal shields border the parietals externally; tympanic shield small or indistinct. No gular fold extending from ear to ear; collar quite indistinct. Dorsal scales large, strongly keeled, much imbricate, scarcely larger on the back than on the sides; 28 to 35 scales round the middle of the body (ventrals included). A large postero-median preanal plate. The hind limb reaches the shoulder or halfway between the latter and the ear in the male, not to axilla in the female; 7 to 11 femoral pores on each side. Tail once and a half to twice as long as head and body; caudal scales about as large as dorsals. Coppery-brown above, with two pale golden lateral streaks bordered with black, the upper extending from the supraciliaries to the tail, the lower from the upper lip to the groin; frequently a series of large black spots between the two lateral streaks; lower surfaces yellowish white.^[1]

From snout to vent 1.65 inches; tail 3.2.

Central India (Saugor, Mhow), N.W. Provinces (Agra), Punjab, Sind, Bellary.

Notes

References

• Arnold, E. N. 1989 Towards a phylogeny and biogeography of the Lacertida : relationships within an Old-World family of lizards derived from morphology. BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) ZOOLOGY 55 (2): 209-257
• Beddome, R.H. 1870 Descriptions of some new lizards from the Madras Presidency. Madras Monthly J. Med. Sci. 1: 30-35
• Blyth,E. 1854 Notices and descriptions of various reptiles, new or little-known. Part I. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 22 [1853]: 639-655
• Böhme, W. & Bischoff, W. 1991 On the proper denomination of Cabrita jerdonii Beddome, 1870 (Reptilia: Lacertidae). Amphibia- Reptilia 12: 220-221
• Das, Indraneil; Dattagupta, Basudeb 1997 Rediscovery of the holotypes of Ophisops jerdoni Blyth, 1853 and Barkudia insularis Annandale, 1917. Hamadryad 22 (1): 53-55
• Jerdon,T.C. 1870 Notes on Indian Herpetology. P. Asiatic Soc. Bengal March 1870: 66-85

External links

• Ophisops jerdoni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database