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Plectrurus sp.
Found 2 Shield tail specimens (Plectrurus sp.) today while digging in the garden. Shield tails are a family of primitive, non-venomous, burrowing snakes that are endemic to India and Sri Lanka and the only family of snakes that are endemic to south Asia. They are small snakes and adults are between 7 inches to 2.5 feet depending on the species. They get their name from the presence of a large, rigid scale at the tip of their tail. They live underground, rarely venturing out and are seen on the surface mostly during the monsoon. Their diet consists mainly of earthworms and other soft-bodied invertebrates. Shield tails retain eggs that hatch within the body of the mother. They are poorly studied and aren't well known in terms of diversity, biology and natural history. One expert told me that it isn't possible to identify this to the species level with photographs alone. Scale counts are needed to narrow it down to species level and at times, even that is difficult. Based on the tail and location he was able to guess the genus.
Found buried under soil. Western ghats, Nilgiris, south India
Spotted on Mar 29, 2018
Submitted on Mar 29, 2018
11 Comments
Thank you Lena and Ilie :)
Never seen this befor very nice and a good info nice spot!
Gorgeous little snake and a great find in your garden ! You and the snake deserve this recognition - Congratulations on the SOTD Mohammed !
Thank you Mark, Dan and Leanne! :)
Congrats Mohammed, what a great find.
Congrats on this rare spotting and sotd!
Great spotting. Congratulations Mohammed.
Thank you Christine, Daniele and Neil!
What an amazing creature! Great series of pics and info, and fantastic discovery in your own garden. Congrats on your SOTD, Mohammed.
Congratulations Mohammed, this awesome find is our Spotting of the Day:
"This fascinating Shield Tail (Plectrurus sp.) is our Spotting of the Day! Shield tail snakes (family Uropeltidae) are small, primitive, non-venomous burrowing snakes endemic to montane regions of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. One of their distinctive features is a protective shield at the tip of the tail. Their eye is also covered with an ocular shield. Project Noah member Mohammed Jaffer Sadiq found two shied tail specimens today while digging his garden. From Mohammed's notes: "One expert told me that it isn't possible to identify this to the species level with photographs alone. Scale counts are needed to narrow it down to species level and at times, even that is difficult. Based on the tail and location he was able to guess the genus".
To learn more about this family of snakes: https://buff.ly/2pRXI9d "
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Awesome!