Common names: Ceylon earth snake, Cuvier's shieldtail, Kerala shieldtail.

Uropeltis ceylanica is a nonvenomous shield tail snake 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...

 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...

. No subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 are currently recognized.

Geographic range

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...

 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...

 (Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

) from Castle Rock

Castle Rock

-Islands:*Castle Rock , an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska*Castle Rock, Hong Kong , an island of Hong Kong, part of the Po Toi Islands*Castle Rock , an island in the U.S...

 to 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...

 (Anaimalai Hills

Anaimalai Hills

The Anaimalai Hills is a range of mountains in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of South India. The name "Anaimalai" derives from the Tamil word 'Ana' meaning elephant and 'Mala' meaning hill, thus Elephant Hill. The highest peak of the Anaimalai Hills is Anamudi, , located in the...

), in the Eastern Ghats

Eastern Ghats

The Eastern Ghats or Eastern Ghauts are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north, through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka. They are eroded and cut through by the...

 in the Shevaroy Hills

Shevaroy Hills

Shevaroys is the anglicised name for the Servarayan which lie near the town of Salem in Tamil Nadu, India. It is a detached hill range, covering an area of 50 sq. m., with plateaus from 4000 to 5000 ft. above sea-level. They include the sanatorium and several old coffee plantations...

, and in the southern Ghats from Kunjithanni (Idikki District) to Trivandrum. The type locality given is "Ceylan" -- a mistake, since this species has never been found there.