Rhinophis
Encyclopedia
- Common names: (none).
Rhinophis is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of non-venomous shield tail snakes found in southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Currently, 14 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
are recognized and no subspecies.
Species
| Species | Taxon author | Common name | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|
| R. blythii Rhinophis blythii Rhinophis blythii, or Blyth's earth snake, is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to the rain forests and grasslands of Sri Lanka.... |
Kelaart Edward Frederick Kelaart Lieutenant Colonel Edward Frederick Kelaart was a Ceylonese-born physician and naturalist.Kelaart was of Dutch and German heritage, and served in the Ceylon Medical Service. He was a staff assistant surgeon in Gibraltar from 1843 to 1845, later transferred to Ceylon. He was an active member of the... , 1853 |
Blyth's earth snake | Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the... in the hills of Central (Hatton and Pundluoya), Uva Uva Province Uva is Sri Lanka's second least populated province, with 1,187,335 people, created in 1896. It consists of two districts: Badulla බදුල්ල பதுளை and Moneragala මොනරාගල மொனராகல. The provincial capital is Badulla. Uva is bordered by Eastern, Southern and Central provinces... , Sabaragamuwa Sabaragamuwa Province Sabaragamuwa, is a province of Sri Lanka, and contains two main cities: Ratnapura and Kegalle. Sabaragamuwa University is in Belihuloya. It is named after its former indigenous inhabitants, namely the Sabara, an indic term for hunter gatherer tribes, a term seldom used in ancient Sri... (Balangoda) and Southern Province Southern Province, Sri Lanka The Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a small geographic area consisting of the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota. The region is economically backward compared to the Western province, where the capital Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte is situated... s. |
| R. dorsimaculatus Rhinophis dorsimaculatus Rhinophis dorsimaculatus is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to the scrub jungles of Sri Lanka.... |
Deraniyagala, 1941 | Sri Lanka. Known only from the type locality in North Western Province North Western Province, Sri Lanka North Western Province is a province of Sri Lanka. The districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam formulate Wayamba. Its capital is Kurunegala, which has a population of 28,571. The province is known mainly for its numerous coconut plantations. Other main towns in this province are Chilaw and Puttalam... . |
|
| R. drummondhayi Rhinophis drummondhayi Rhinophis drummondhayi, or Drummond-Hay's earth snake, is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to the forests and grasslands of Sri Lanka.... |
Wall, 1921 | Drummond-Hay's earth snake | Sri Lanka in the Hills of Central and Uva Province Uva Province Uva is Sri Lanka's second least populated province, with 1,187,335 people, created in 1896. It consists of two districts: Badulla බදුල්ල பதுளை and Moneragala මොනරාගල மொனராகல. The provincial capital is Badulla. Uva is bordered by Eastern, Southern and Central provinces... s (Haldumulla, Nanunukula and Uva Patnas at 1,200 m elevation). |
| R. fergusonianus Rhinophis fergusonianus The Cardamom Hills Earth Snake is a species of snake. It is distributed across south India, specifically in the Cardamom Hills, Travancore, South India.... |
Boulenger George Albert Boulenger George Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:... , 1896 |
Cardamom Hills earth snake | Southern India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... in the Western Ghats Western Ghats The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan... : Cardamom Hills Cardamom Hills Not to be confused with Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia. For other uses, see Cardamom The Cardamom Hills are part of the southern Western Ghats located in southeast Kerala and southwest Tamil Nadu in South India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hill's cool elevation,... , Travancore Travancore Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of... . |
| R. homolepis Rhinophis homolepis Rhinophis homolepis is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to the rain forests and grasslands of Sri Lanka.... |
(Hemprich Wilhelm Hemprich Wilhelm Friedrich Hemprich was a German naturalist and explorer.Hemprich was born in Glatz , Prussian Silesia, and studied medicine at Breslau and Berlin... , 1820) |
Sri Lanka in the Hills of Sabaragamuwa (Ratnapura, Yatiyantota and Balangoda Hills below 900 m), Central and Uva Provinces. | |
| R. lineatus | Gower & Maduwage, 2011 | Striped Rhinophis | Sri Lanka |
| R. oxyrynchusT | (Schneider Johann Gottlob Schneider Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German classicist and naturalist.-Biography:Schneider was born at Collm in Saxony... , 1801) |
Schneider's earth snake | Sri Lanka in the dry zone of Northern Northern Province, Sri Lanka The Northern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was... , Central and Eastern Province Eastern Province, Sri Lanka The Eastern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was... s. |
| R. philippinus Rhinophis philippinus Rhinophis philippinus, or Peter's earth snake, is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.... |
(Cuvier Georges Cuvier Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist... , 1829) |
Peter's earth snake | Sri Lanka in the Hills of Sabaragamuwa and Central Provinces. |
| R. porrectus Rhinophis porrectus Rhinophis porrectus, or Willey's earth snake, is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.... |
Wall, 1921 | Willey's earth snake | Sri Lanka. Known only from the type locality in North Western Province. |
| R. punctatus Rhinophis punctatus Rhinophis punctatus, or Müller's earth snake, is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.... |
Müller Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller , was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, and ichthyologist not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge.-Early years and education:... , 1832 |
Müller's earth snake | Sri Lanka in Central (Kandy Kandy Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an... , Peradeniya Peradeniya Peradeniya is a town of about 50,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It is situated on the A1 main road connecting Kandy and Colombo, just a few kilometres west of Kandy.... ) and Western Province Western Province, Sri Lanka The Western Province is the most densely populated province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the legislative capital Sri Jayawardenapura as well to Colombo, the nation's administrative and business center.-Districts:Basnahira is divided into 3 districts:... s (Puttalam Puttalam Puttalam is the capital city of the Puttalam District in North Western Province, Sri Lanka.-History:The history of this dry zone dates back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya, nearly 2500 years ago, when his vessel washed ashore. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of the Tamil word Uppuththalam... ). |
| R. sanguineus Rhinophis sanguineus Salty Earth Snake is a species of uropeltid snake found in the Western Ghats of India.-Description:Description after Beddome : "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... |
Beddome Richard Henry Beddome Colonel Richard Henry Beddome was a British military officer in India, chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department and a naturalist... , 1863 |
Salty earth snake | Southern India in the Western Ghats: Mysore (Koppa, Kalsa), Wynaad Wayanad District Wayanad District in the north-east of Kerala, India, was formed on November 1, 1980 as the 12th district by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Kalpetta is the district headquarters as well as the only municipal town in the district. The region was known as Mayakshetra in the... , Nilgiris Nilgiris (mountains) The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India... , Travancore Travancore Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of... and Tinnevelly Tirunelveli Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu... Hills. |
| R. travancoricus Rhinophis travancoricus Travancore Shieldtail Rhinophis travancoricus is a species of snake.Distribution:S India Type locality: near Trevandrum, at the 6th mile-stone towards Vambayam... |
Boulenger, 1893 | Travancore shieldtail | Southern India: Travancore, from sea level to an elevation of about 1,200 m in the hills. In Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland... , Pirmed, Mahendragiri Mahendragiri Mahendragiri is the name of a hill in southern Tamil Nadu, near Nagercoil, in Kanyakumari district. It is part of the southern tip of the Western Ghats, with an elevation of .... , Ernakulam Ernakulam Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in... and Chenganacherry. |
| R. tricolorata Rhinophis tricolorata Rhinophis tricolorata is a species of snake in the Uropeltidae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.... |
Deraniyagala, 1975 | Sri Lanka. Known only from the type locality: "vicinity of the rain forest of Sinha Raja to the south west of Ratnapura Ratnapura - Floods :The town of Ratnapura is situated in the flooding plain of the river Kalu. The town experiences regular floods usually in the month of May. There is no large dam across the Kalu, so this leaves the city at the mercy of nature's forces every year. Several proposals have been made to reduce... at an elevation of 1,500 feet with a rainfall of over 200 inches per annum. |
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| R. zigzag | Gower & Maduwage, 2011 | Zigzag Rhinophis | Sri Lanka |
- ) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
.