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Aspidura guentheri

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Aspidura guentheri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Suborder:
Serpentes
Family:
Colubridae
Genus:
Aspidura
Species:
A. guentheri
Binomial name
Aspidura guentheri
Ferguson, 1876

Aspidura guentheri, commonly known as Günther's rough-sided snake[1] or කුඩා මැඩිල්ලා (kuda medilla) in Sinhala, is a species of colubrid snake endemic to Sri Lanka. It is the smallest member of the genus Aspidura.

Etymology

The specific name, guentheri, is in honor of German-born British herpetologist Albert Günther.[1][2]

Geographic range

A. guentheri is a burrowing snake restricted to the lowlands of Sri Lanka. Localities recorded include Ratnapura, Deniyaya, Yapitikanda, Kandilpana, Kosgama, Kalutara, and Balangoda at elevations of 100–500 m (330–1,640 ft).

Description

Head indistinct from neck, body cylindrical. Dorsum brown, mottled with dark brown. Forehead dark. A pale neck band present. Vertebral and lateral rows of dark spots. Venter light brown.

Scalation

Midbody dorsal scale rows 17. Preoculars present. A single postocular in contact with parietal. Ventrals 103-122. Subcaudals 18-29.

Ecology

Diet comprises mainly earthworms.

Reproduction

Clutches of 1 to 3 eggs are laid.

References

  1. ^ a b "Aspidura guentheri FERGUSON 1876". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Aspidura guentheri, pp. 110-111).

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Aspidura guentheri, p. 290).
  • Boulenger GA. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Aspidura guentheri, p. 312 + Plate XX, figure 3).
  • Ferguson W. 1876. "Description of a New Snake of the Genus Aspidura ". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1876: 819-820 (Aspidura guentheri, new species).
  • Smith MA. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia, Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Aspidura guentheri, p. 338).
  • Wall F. 1921. Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka]: Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, Government Printer). xxii + 581 pp. (Aspidura guentheri, pp. 208–209).
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