Rhinophis siruvaniensis:
A new shieldtail species, Rhinophis siruvaniensis, has been described with the help of citizen scientists after it was found recently in the Siruvani Hills which fall in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- It is a new species of shieldtail snake.
- It was discovered in Siruvani Hills, located in the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- The tip of its tail is dome-shaped.
- Shieldtails are a group of small-sized, non-venomous snakes that burrow in the soil and mostly live underground.
- They belong to the Uropeltidae family of snakes and are also called uropeltids.
- They’ve been named shieldtails because the tip of their tails looks like a disc-shaped shield.
- They are endemic to India & Sri Lanka.
- In India, they are found in the Western Ghats and some parts of Peninsular India.
