Ahaetulla sahyadrensis

Ahaetulla sahyadrensis is a species of tree snake endemic to the Western Ghats of India.[1][2][3]

Ahaetulla sahyadrensis
In Kerala.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Ahaetulla
Species:
A. sahyadrensis
Binomial name
Ahaetulla sahyadrensis
Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, Princia D'Souza, Shanker, and Ganesh, 2020
Synonyms

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered conspecific with A. pulverulenta (now considered to be restricted to Sri Lanka), and was described as a subspecies of it (A. p. indica) by Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala in 1955. However, a 2020 study recovered it as a distinct species. In addition, a now-defunct subspecies of Ahaetulla prasina, A. p. indica, was described by Rudolf Mell in 1931. Thus, the combination Ahaetulla pulverulenta indica would be a homonym to Ahaetulla prasina indica. To solve this, a new replacement name, A. sahyadrensis, was erected in 2020.[1]

Geographic range

This species is the most widespread of all vine snakes endemic to the Western Ghats, ranging from Gujarat south to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.[1]

Habitat

It is found in moist deciduous and evergreen forests from just above sea level up to 1500 msl. They are usually found in the vicinity of perennial streams.[1]

References
  1. Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Srikanthan, Achyuthan N.; Pal, Saunak P.; D’souza, Princia Margaret; Shanker, Kartik; Ganesh, Sumaithangi Rajagopalan (2020-11-06). "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". Zootaxa. 4874 (1): 1–62. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4874.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334.
  2. Staff Reporter (2020-11-14). "New species of vine snakes discovered". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  3. "The discovery of five new species of vine snakes in India". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
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