Brown-speckled Whipsnake

description

Description and Variation. Adult specimens very slender, partially laterally compressed body with a maximum snout to vent length 827 mm; tail length (253 mm for specimen of SVL 454 mm; other specimens with broken or damaged tails); ventrals 182 – 186 notched with keels; subcaudals 158 – 161 divided; cloacal scale divided; relatively long and slender tail; dorsal scale rows in 15 - 15 - 11 rows of smooth, obliquely disposed scales; head very distinct from neck, supralabials 8 (both left and right) with 5 th & 6 th supralabial being the largest, 5 th in contact with the eye; 4 th supralabial divided; infralabials 7 (both left and right); 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd and 4 th infralabials in contact with the anterior genials; 4 th, 5 th and 6 th infralabials in contact with the posterior genials; mental scale wedged in between 1 st pair of infralabials; nasal 1 (both left and right); loreals absent; pre-subocular 1 (both left and right); pre-ocular 1 (both left and right); post-oculars 2; sub-oculars absent; temporal 2 + 3 (both left and right); prefrontal scale in contact with pre-oculars; preventrals 2; rostral appendage comprised of numerous smaller scales. Colour in preservative. Specimens wi

Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India

diagnosis

Diagnosis. 1. Phylogenetically, Ahaetulla pulverulenta (L 8) is sister to the clade comprising A. sahyadrensis nom. nov. (L 7), A. oxyrhyncha comb. nov. (L 1) and A. anomala. 2. A. pulverulenta shows a moderate level (4.52 % in Cytb and 1.7 % in 16 S) of genetic divergence from A. sahyadrensis nom. nov. of the Western Ghats (see below). 3. This is a species of usually grey-brown coloured Ahaetulla having an elongate multi-scaled rostral appendage and a rhomboid crown marking (vs. rostral scale not multi-scaled in all other Peninsular India Ahaetulla spp., except A. anomala and A. sahyadrensis nom. nov.); lacking white or yellow ventrolateral stripe (vs. present in all regional congeners except A. sahyadrensis nom. nov.); 8 pre-diastemal and 7 post-diastemal maxillary teeth (vs. 7 and 9 in A. isabellina comb. nov., 6 and 7 in A. malabarica sp. nov., vs. 6 and 11 in A. farnsworthi sp. nov., vs. 6 and 8 in A. borealis sp. nov., vs. 7 and 7 in A. oxyrhyncha comb. nov. & 7 and 6 in A. sahyadrensis nom. nov. from India, dissected from BNHS 2010); differs from A. sahyadrensis nom. nov. of India in ventral scale counts 179 – 193 [182 – 186 in BNHS specimens] (vs. 182 – 203 [186 – 202 in ou

Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India

discussion

Comments: David & Dubois (2005) elaborated on the taxonomic and nomenclatural history of this species, besides redescribing its holotype. As currently understood, this species has four subjective junior synonyms. One of them Dryophis pulverulentus Jan, 1863 is, in addition, also a secondary homonym of Dryinus pulverulentus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 (see David & Dubois, 2005).

Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India

distribution

Distribution and habitat. Ahaetulla pulverulenta is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it occurs almost throughout the island except the high (> 1200 m AMSL) elevations (see Wall 1921; Das & de Silva 2005).

Disentangling vines: a study of morphological crypsis and genetic divergence in vine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae: Ahaetulla) with the description of five new species from Peninsular India