Plectrurus

Plectrurus
Perrotet's shieldtail, Plectrurus perrotetii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Uropeltidae
Genus:	Plectrurus A.H.A. Duméril, 1851
Synonyms
Plectrurus A.H.A. Duméril In A.M.C. Duméril & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851 Maudia Gray, 1858 Plectrurus - Boulenger, 1890 Pseudoplectrurus Boulenger, 1890 Plectrurus - Mahendra, 1984[1]

Common names: burrowing snakes[2]

Plectrurus is a genus of nonvenomous shield tail snakes endemic to the Western Ghats of South India.[1] Currently, three species are recognized.[3] They inhabit high elevation montane Shola forests and are usually found under fallen logs and rocks. Some species are rare while some are quite common in their range.

Description

Small snakes, they do not exceed 43 cm (17 in).

An ocular shield covers the eye. The eyes are small, diameter not more than half the length of the ocular shield. The tail is laterally compressed. The terminal scute also is laterally compressed, with two superposed points. The points are simple, bifid, or trifid.[4]

Species

Species[3]	Taxon author[3]	Common name[2]	Geographic range[1]
Plectrurus aureus	Beddome, 1880	golden shield-tail snake	Southern India in Coonoor, the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu In October 2020, two specimens were found by 10-year-old Dhruv Gowda. There had not been a recorded sighting of this snake in 140 years. This snake was last claimed to have been seen at the Chubra Hills in Wayanad, Kerala in 1880. There have been no recorded sightings since the 1880 sighting at the Chubra Hills.
Plectrurus guentheri	Beddome, 1863	Günther's shield-tail snake	Southern India in the Western Ghats: Sispara Ghat on the west side of the Nilgiri Hills
Plectrurus perrotetii^T	A.H.A. Duméril, 1851	Perrotet's shield-tail snake	Southern India in the Western Ghats: the Nilgiri Hills, where it is a common species

• ) Not including the nominate subspecies

^T) Type species[1]

References

1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
2. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. "Plectrurus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 1 September 2007.
4. Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Uropeltidæ... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. pp. 160-161.

External links

• Plectrurus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 1 September 2007.