Sushanta’s Worm-eating Snake

description

Description of holotype. Adult female; incised on underside; SVL and TAL of 276 mm and 35 mm respectively; tail small, TAL / TL ratio being only 0.11; head small (HL 7.8 mm, 2.8 % of SVL); head width (HW 4.7 mm) greater than head height (HH 4.2 mm); head indistinct from neck; eye small (ED 1 mm, 12.8 % of HL); ESN 2.9 mm; rostral slightly wider than high (1.1 mm and 0.8 mm, respectively); internasals paired, much shorter than the single PF; frontal pentagonal, 2.8 mm long, longer than its distance from the posterior edge of rostral (1.9 mm), around two and half times wider than supraocular; parietals, being 4.4 mm long, are longer than frontal; 1 pre- and 1 post-ocular; loreal nearly twice wider than high and is in contact with nasal, internasal, frontal, preocular and 1 st and 2 nd SL; very small nostril in single forward directed nasal; SL (R / L) 6 / 6, 1 st smallest and 6 th largest, 3 rd and 4 th touching eye; IL (R / L) 6 / 6, 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd IL touch the anterior genial while the 4 th one contacts both the anterior and posterior genials; anterior genials longer than posterior genials; TEMP (R / L) 1 + 2 / 1 + 2; maxillary teeth in life were probably around 16 or 17 (coun

Description of a new species of genus Trachischium with a redescription of Trachischium fuscum (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae)

diagnosis

Diagnosis. Trachischium sushantai sp. nov. can be diagnosed by a combination of the following characters: a single nasal and PF, SL (R / L) 6 / 6, post-ocular 1, DSCH: M: V 13: 13: 13; VEN 152; SC 23 pairs of which those on anterior half of tail are as long as wide and regular hexagon / rhomboid shaped, TAL / TL ratio of 0.11, head and dorsum uniform dark brown, venter brown with cream or yellow border on the trailing edges of VEN and SC.

Description of a new species of genus Trachischium with a redescription of Trachischium fuscum (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae)

distribution

Distribution. Trachischium sushantai sp. nov. is currently known only from its type locality in Jammu (Jammu & Kahmir, India) (Figure 3). Natural history. Unknown.

Description of a new species of genus Trachischium with a redescription of Trachischium fuscum (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae)

etymology

Etymology. The new species is named after Sushanta Kumar Das, father of the second author of present paper. He is an enthusiastic nature observer who have spent a significant amount of time of his life in forested areas of West Bengal (India) and nurtured the same interest in the second author. The specific epithet, a patronym, is a noun in genitive case.

Description of a new species of genus Trachischium with a redescription of Trachischium fuscum (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae)