Abstract
The Sri Lankan uropeltid (shieldtail) snake Rhinophis dorsimaculatus Deraniyagala, 1941 was described originally from two specimens that were subsequently lost. The small amount of previously published data and lack of published colour photographs made this one of South Asia’s most poorly known snake species, and this resulted in at least one instance of taxonomic misidentification. An additional 10 specimens from a historical collection from the vicinity of the type locality recently came to light. This material is reviewed and documented and the species recharacterized. An additional locality for the species is reported. The newly reported material helps to corroborate the taxonomic validity and distinctiveness of Rhinophis dorsimaculatus. The species is readily distinguished from congeners by having 227 or more ventral scales; a large, dorsally carinate rostral shield; posterior margins of paired anals that are largely separated by the posteriormost ventral scale; and a distinctive colour pattern with bilaterally asymmetrical dark blotches within a broad, pale middorsal stripe and regularly punctate flanks.
References
Abeysiriwardana, K.E., Daniel, B.A., de Silva, A., de Silva, P., Ferdinando, J.L., Ganegama, K., Hewamathes, K.K., Herath, N.D., Jayawickrama, A., Jayasinghe, S.S.S., Jayasoorya, L.G., Lasantha, S.A., Premasiri, P.G.D.R., Srinath, D., Rathnayake, L.K., Samarawickrama, V.A.M.P.K., Somaweera, R.K. & Wijewardhana, S. (2000) Rhinophis dorsimaculatus Deraniyagala, 1941. In: de Silva, A., Molur, S. & Walker, S. (Eds.), Conservation Assessment and Management Plan. CAMP Report for Amphibians and Selected Taxa of Reptiles of Sri Lanka. Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Sri Lanka, pp. 195.
Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. & Samarasekara, V.N. (2001) An Overview of the Threatened Herpetofauna of South Asia. IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Sri Lanka Country Office and Asia Regional Biodiversity Programme, Homagama, Sri Lanka, 118 pp.
Bossuyt, F., Beenaerts, N., Meegaskumbura, M., Gower, D.J., Pethiyagoda, R., Roelants, K., Mannaert, A., Wilkinson, M., Bahir, M.M., Manamendra-Arachchi, K., Oommen, O.V., Ng, P.K.L., Schneider, C.J. & Milinkovitch, M.C. (2004) Local endemism within the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot. Science, 306, 479–481.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1100167Cadle, J.E., Dessauer, H.C., Gans, C. & Gartside, D.F. (1990) Phylogenetic relationship and molecular evolution in uropeltid snakes (Serpentes: Uropeltidae): allozymes and albumin immunology. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 40, 293–320.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1990.tb00541.xDas, I. & de Silva, A. (2005) Photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of Sri Lanka. New Holland Publishers, London, 144 pp.
de Silva, P.H.D.H. (1980) Snake fauna of Sri Lanka. National Museums of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka, xi + 472 pp.
de Silva, A. (1990) Colour guide to the snakes of Sri Lanka. R & A Publishing Ltd., Avon, 130 pp.
de Silva, A. (1996) The herpetofauna of Sri Lanka: A brief review. Graphic Land, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 99 pp.
de Silva, A. (1998) Snakes of Sri Lanka: A checklist and an annotated bibliography. Department of Wildlife Conservation/GEF/UNDP/FAO, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 112 pp.
de Silva, A. (2001) The herpetofauna of Sri Lanka. An historical overview, current status with checklists. Amphibian and Reptile Research Organization of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, 91 pp.
Deraniyagala, P.E.P. (1941) A new fossorial snake (Rhinophis dorsimaculatus) from Ceylon. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 42, 800–802.
Deraniyagala, P.E.P. (1954) Two new snakes from Ceylon. Proceedings of the 10th Congress of the Ceylon Association for the Advancement of Science, 1, 27–28.
Deraniyagala, P.E.P. (1955) A colored atlas of some vertebrates from Ceylon. Vol. 3. Serpentoid Reptilia. Government Press, Ceylon, xvii + 121mpp., 49 pls.
Dowling, H.G. (1951) A proposed method of expressing scale reductions in snakes. Copeia, 1951, 131–134.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1437542Gans, C. (1966) Liste der rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien. Uropeltidae. Das Tiereich, 84, 1–29.
Gower, D.J., Captain, A. & Thakur, S.S. (2008) On the taxonomic status of Uropeltis bicatenata (Günther) (Reptilia: Serpentes: Uropeltidae). Hamadryad, 33, 64–82.
Gower, D.J. & Ablett, J.D. (2006) Counting ventral scales in Asian anilioid snakes. Herpetological Journal, 16, 259–263.
Gower, D.J. & Maduwage, K. (2011) Two new species of Rhinophis Hemprich (Serpentes: Uropeltidae) from Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 2881, 51–68.
Gray, J.E. (1858) On a new genus and several new species of Uropeltidæ, in the collection of the British Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1858, 260–265.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1858.tb06374.xLegg, C. & Jewell, N. (1995) A 1:50,000-scale forest map of Sri Lanka: the basis for a National Forest Geographic Information System. The Sri Lanka Forester (Special Issue: Remote Sensing), 3–24.
Mahendra, B.C. (1984) Handbook of the snakes of India, Ceylon, Burma, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Annals of Zoology, 22, 1–412.
McDiarmid, R.W., Campbell, J.A. & Touré, T. (1999) Snake Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Volume 1. The Herpetologists’ League, Washington, 511 pp.
Müller, J.P. (1832) Beiträge zur Anatomie und Naturgeschichte der Amphibien. Zeitschrift für Physiologie, 4, 190–275.
Nicholls, L. (1929) A new species of Earth Snake of the genus Silybura. Spolia Zeylanica, 15, 153–155.
Pyron, R.A., Kandambi, H.K.D., Hendry, C.R., Pushpamal, V., Burbrink, F.T. & Somaweera, R. (2013) Genus-level phylogeny of snakes reveals the origins of species richness in Sri Lanka. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 66, 969–978.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.12.004Smith, M.A. (1943) The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the whole of the Indo-Chinese sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. 3. Serpentes. Taylor and Francis, London, 583 pp.
Somaweera, R. (2006) Sri Lankawe Sarpayin [in Sinhalese; “Snakes of Sri Lanka”]. WHT Publications, Colombo, Sri Lanka, x + 297 pp.
Taylor, E.H. (1950) The snakes of Ceylon. University of Kansas Science Bulletin, 33, 519–603.
Wall, F. (1921) Ophidia Taprobanica or the snakes of Ceylon. Government Printer, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 581 pp.
Wallach, V., Williams, K.L. & Boundy, J. (2014) Snakes of the World: A catalogue of living and extinct species. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1237 pp.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b16901Wickramasinghe, L.J.M. (2012) The taxonomy and conservation status of the reptile fauna in Sri Lanka. In: Weerakoon, D.K. & Wijesundara, S. (Eds.), The national Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation status of the fauna and flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka, pp. 99–113
Wickramasinghe, L.J.M., Vidanapathirana, D.R., Wickramasinghe, N. & Ranwella, P.N. (2009) A new species of Rhinophis Hemprich, 1820 (Reptilia: Serpentes: Uropeltidae) from Rakwana massif, Sri Lanka. Zootaxa, 2044, 1–22.