Melanophidium bilineatum
Encyclopedia
Two-lined Black Shieldtail or Iridescent Shieldtail, Melanophidium bilineatum is a species of snake found in Wayanad situated in the Western Ghats
in South India
. This species was known from only from three specimens and very little information is available of it in the wild.
The species was described from specimens obtained by Richard Henry Beddome
from near the summit of the Periya peak in Wayanad, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, and also at a similar elevation on the Tirrhioot peak. (West of Manatoddy
according to M. A. Smith 1943)
The diameter of eye one-fourth the length of the ocular shield, and the ventrals a little broader, twice as broad as the adjacent scales: ventrals
188-200; caudals
15-17. Tail as in the young of Melanophidium punctatum
. Iridescent black above and below; the two colours separated by a broad, yellow stripe along scale row 2 and the adjacent halves of rows 1 and 3; it may or may not have a series of small black dots.
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. This species was known from only from three specimens and very little information is available of it in the wild.
The species was described from specimens obtained by Richard Henry Beddome
Richard Henry Beddome
Colonel Richard Henry Beddome was a British military officer in India, chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department and a naturalist...
from near the summit of the Periya peak in Wayanad, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, and also at a similar elevation on the Tirrhioot peak. (West of Manatoddy
Mananthavady
Mananthavady is a small town on the banks of Mananthavady Puzha a tributary of the Kabini River in the Wayanad district of Kerala, India.This area was once ruled by the Pazhassi dynasty and the tomb of Pazhassi Raja is an important heritage site located in the heart of the town. This is also the...
according to M. A. Smith 1943)
Ventral scales
In snakes, the ventral scales are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that contacts the paraventral row of dorsal scales on either side...
188-200; caudals
Subcaudal scales
In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. These scales may be either single or divided and are preceded by the anal scale....
15-17. Tail as in the young of Melanophidium punctatum
Melanophidium punctatum
Beddome's Black Shieldtail, Melanophidium punctatum, is a species of shieldtail snake found in the Western Ghats of India.-Description:...
. Iridescent black above and below; the two colours separated by a broad, yellow stripe along scale row 2 and the adjacent halves of rows 1 and 3; it may or may not have a series of small black dots.