Uropeltis arcticeps explained

Uropeltis arcticeps, commonly known as the Madurai earth snake or the Tinevelly uropeltis, is a species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. The species is endemic to India.

Geographic distribution

U. arcticeps is found in South India (Western Ghats south of Palghat; from sea level (Alleppey) to about 5,000 feet in the Travancore Hills; Tinnevelly Hills).

The type locality of Silybura arcticeps is "Tinevelly, S India", and the type locality of Silybura nilgherriensis var. picta is "North Travancore near Peermede, on coffee estate at an elevation between 3000 and 4000 feet, S India".

Further reading

• Günther A (1875). "Second Report on Collections of Indian Reptiles obtained by the British Museum". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1875: 224-234. (Silybura arcticeps, new species, p. 229, Figure 1).
• Beddome RH (1878). "Description of six new Species of Snakes of the Genus Silybura, Family Uropeltidæ, from the Peninsula of India". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1878: 800-802.
• Beddome RH (1886). "An Account of the Earth-Snakes of the Peninsula of India and Ceylon". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fifth Series 17: 3-33. (Silybura nilgherriensis Var. picta, new variety, p. 16).
• Mason GE (1888). "Description of a new Earth-Snake of the Genus Silybura from the Bombay Presidency, with Remarks on other little-known Uropeltidae". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Sixth Series 1: 184-186.