Common names: shield-tail snakes, shield-tailed snakes, earth snakes.
Uropeltis is a genus of nonvenomous shield-tail snakes endemic to Peninsular India. As of 2022, 26 species are recognized as being valid.
Most Uropeltis species are found in the hills of Peninsular India, mainly in the southwestern parts of the country, including the Western Ghats and, to some extent, also in the Eastern Ghats and in the hills of Central India.
Species in the genus Uropeltis share the following characters. The eye is in the ocular shield. There are no supraoculars nor temporals. There is no mental groove. The tail is conical or obliquely truncated, terminating in a small scute, the end of which is square, or bicuspid with the points side by side.[1]
| Species[2] | Taxon author | Common name | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|
| U. arcticeps | (Günther, 1875) | Tinevelly shield-tail snake | the Tirunelveli Hills |
| U. beddomii | (Günther, 1862) | Beddome's shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. bhupathyi | Jins, Sampaio & Gower, 2018 | Bhupathy's shield-tail snake | Tamil Nadu |
| U. bicatenata | (Günther, 1875) | two-chained shield-tail snake | the Pune Hills |
| U. broughami | (Beddome, 1878) | Brougham's shield-tail snake | |
| U. ceylanicaT | Cuvier, 1829 | Cuvier's shield-tail snake | the Western Ghats south of Goa |
| U. dindigalensis | (Beddome, 1877) | Dindigul shield-tail snake | the Sirumalai Hills |
| U. ellioti | (Gray, 1858) | Elliot's shield-tail snake | the hills of Peninsular India |
| U. grandis | (Beddome, 1867) | Smith's earth snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. jerdoni | Ganesh, Punith, Adhikari & Achyuthan, 2021 | Jerdon’s shield-tail snake | India (Karnataka) |
| U. liura | (Günther, 1875) | Günther's shield-tail snake | the southern Western Ghats |
| U. macrolepis | (W. Peters, 1862) | Bombay shield-tail snake | the northern Western Ghats |
| U. macrorhyncha | (Beddome, 1877) | Ponachi shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. maculata | (Beddome, 1878) | spotted shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. madurensis | (Beddome, 1878) | Madura earth snake | Meghamalai |
| U. myhendrae | (Beddome, 1886) | barred shield-tail snake | the Agasthyamalai Hills |
| U. nitida | (Beddome, 1878) | Cochin shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliyampathi |
| U. ocellata | (Beddome, 1863) | Nilgiri shield-tail snake | the Western Ghats south of Nilgiris |
| U. petersi | (Beddome, 1878) | Peters' shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. phipsonii | (Mason, 1888) | Phipson's shield-tail snake | the northern Western Ghats |
| U. pulneyensis | (Beddome, 1863) | Palni shield-tail snake | the southern Western Ghats |
| U. rajendrani | Ganesh & Achyuthan, 2020 | Rajendran's shield-tail snake | the southern Eastern Ghats |
| U. rubrolineata | (Günther, 1875) | red-lined shield-tail snake | the southern Western Ghats |
| U. rubromaculata | (Beddome, 1867) | red-spotted shield-tail snake | the Anaimalai Hills |
| U. shorttii | (Beddome, 1863) | Shevaroy Hills earth snake | Yercaud |
| U. woodmasoni | (W. Theobald, 1876) | Palni shield-tail snake, black-bellied shield tail snake | the Palni Hills |
A taxon author in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Uropeltis.