Uropeltis bhupathyi-New snake species discovered in Western Ghats

What: Bhupathy’s shieldtail

Where: Tamilnadu (Western Ghats)

Who: Jins V.J

  • Researchers have discovered a new shieldtail snake species in the forests of the Anaikatty hills in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district.
  • The brownish and 40 cm long new snake species have been named as Uropeltis bhupathyi, after the late herpetologist S. Bhupathy, for his contributions to the field.
  • This new snake species is the latest addition to the snake fauna of the Western Ghats.
  • The snake belongs to a family of snakes found only in south India and Sri Lanka.
  • These are non-venomous snakes and their primary prey is earthworm.
  • Due to large, flat tips of their tails, which make them appear almost sliced off, these are called and are called shieldtails.
  • With this new discovery, the number of known species of shieldtails in India has increased to 41.
  • The new snake species was discovered by Jins V.J.

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