A new species of shieldtail snake ( Reptilia : Squamata : Uropeltidae ) from Kolli Hill complex , southern Eastern Ghats , peninsular India

We describe a new species of shieldtail (uropeltid) snake, Uropeltis rajendrani sp. nov., from the Kolli Hill complex of the southern Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India. The new species belongs to the U. ceylanica group and is differentiated from related species in having 16–17:16–17:15–16 dorsal scale rows; 145–158 ventral scales; 8–11 pairs of subcaudals; dorsum uniform brown, anteriorly powdered with yellow mottling; venter brown, scales outlined with yellow. This endemic species with a restricted range is known only from atop Kolli Hill complex, inhabiting higher elevation (> 900m) evergreen forests, where it is the only known member of this genus.

Small, unassuming, burrowing snakes such as the shieldtail snakes of the family Uropeltidae Müller, 1832 deservedly fall in the list of under-researched animals. This is the only snake family endemic to the Indian subcontinent (McDiarmid et al. 1999;Wallach et al. 2014) and is surmised to be an evolutionary radiation (Bossuyt et al. 2004;Ganesh 2015). Pyron et al. (2016) provided the latest treatment to this group, decades after a previous detailed study by Rajendran (1985). This family consists of seven genera, of which the genus Uropeltis (type genus) is the most diverse and widespread in the Indian peninsula (Beddome 1886;Rajendran 1985;Whitaker & Captain 2004;Pyron et al. 2016).
Until recently, the distribution of the whole genus as such remained unclear, as new studies found that it is restricted to the Indian peninsula and is absent from Sri Lanka (Pyron et al. 2013(Pyron et al. , 2016. The alpha-taxonomy of the earliest described species in this genus-Uropeltis ceylanica Cuvier, 1829-is still unsettled and obscure. Gower et al. (2008) and Ganesh et al. (2014) partly resolved the taxonomic complexities in this species complex by reviving subjective junior synonyms as valid taxa, thereby uncovering cryptic diversity in this group. Just a year ago, a new species of Uropeltis was discovered (Jins et al. 2018). In this work, we describe a new Uropeltis from one of the emerging centers of herpetofaunal endemism -the southern Eastern Ghats (Aengals & Ganesh 2013;Ganesh & Arumugam 2016;Ganesh et al. 2018).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This paper is based on the examination of three preserved specimens as well as five wild, uncollected topotypic specimens of the species in question, documented in the field (also see Ganesh & Arumugam 2016). All photos were taken using Nikon D 7000 and Canon Power Shot SX-130-IS model high resolution digital cameras. We recorded morphological details like scalation, measurements and colour patterns with the help of a magnifying hand lens (5X optical zoom). The type series comprises solely road kills that were later identified to be of this new species. We measured the preserved specimens using Mitutoyo dial vernier calipers (LC 0.1mm) except for snout-vent length that was measured with a standard measuring tape (LC 1mm).
We followed Smith (1943) for definition and terminology of morphological characters, except for ventral scales for which Gower & Ablett (2006) counting method was followed. Where damaged, the adjacent coastal scale rows were used as proxies for counting ventral scales in the two paratypes. We provide comparisons and differential diagnosis based on our series of preserved voucher specimens in collections at various museums (see Appendix 1) and also on our perusal of original description papers and subsequent taxonomic treatises (see literature cited). Paratypes: BNHS 3560 and BNHS 3561, trampled adults, found dead on a road. Same data as of holotype.
Etymology: Named in honour of Dr. Maria Viswasam Rajendran (2 Nov 1916-6 Aug 1993, 'MVR' for short, for his exhaustive studies on shieldtail snakes in Tamil Nadu, next only to Richard Henry Beddome and Frank Wall. Not only was he a professor of zoology at the St. Joseph's College Palayamkottai (Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu) but also the director of the Madras (now Chennai) Snake Park (Chennai, Tamil Nadu) during the early 1980s.

J TT
venter yellow, each scale edged with brown.
Scalation: Rostral visible from above, smaller than nasal, not completely separating nasals; nasals in contact with one another posteriorly, prefrontals subequal in size to nasal and ocular scales, not in contact with rostral; nostril piercing nasal scales; nasal scales divided by rostral anteriorly but in contact with each other posteriorly; prefrontals subequal to frontal, slightly larger than nasals and oculars; frontal longer than broad, smaller than parietal; parietals large, largest of all head scales; supralabials 4, 4 (left, right), 1 st and 2 nd ones small, 3 rd below eye, 4 th the largest; infralabials 3,4 (left, right), elongate, 1 st pair slightly curved anteriorly; mental scale small, subequal to 1 st infralabial, but as wide as long; body scales imbricate, cycloid; dorsally around body in 17:16:16 rows (one head length after neck: at midbody: one head length before vent); ventrals 148, angulate laterally; cloacal scale divided, each part larger than a dorsal scale; subcaudals 11 pairs + 1 terminal scale; tail shield distinctly truncate above, concave, clearly circumscribed and ridged; covered with bi-and tri-carinate thickened scales; 11 scales across the length and 5 across the width of the tail shield.
Colouration: Dorsum deep brown, rather uniform and unpatterned for the most part, except near neck where it is speckled with yellow spots; venter rich brown each ventral scale and abutting rows of last coastal scales more or less fully bordered with yellow outlines, giving an overall brown-mottled appearance; a pair of yellow stripes extending from last supralabial scale till the anterior 1/3 rd of the body, across the first blotch near the neck; cloacal scale and subcaudal scales orange with

Field observations (also see Ganesh & Arumugam 2016):
The new species was sighted in and around the type locality and in other parts of the higher slopes (> 900m) with adequate vegetation cover of Kolli Hill complex of Salem and Namakkal. This species has previously been sighted from Semmedu, Solakkadu, Kuzhivalavu, Seekuparai, Thenur Nadu, Selur Nadu, Gundur Nadu settlements (see Ganesh & Arumugam 2016). This is a burrowing snake, like all others of its family and resting individuals have been observed under fallen logs, rocks and stones and have also been dug out during active searches. It is active during night time when the individuals forage out on to land, but was once sighted outside soil surface at 11.00h in a closed canopy forest on a rainy day. A young one (SVL: 70mm) was sighted in July. The new species inhabits evergreen and semi-evergreen forests covering the hill tops and, also, marginally cultivated habitats such as coffee and cardamom plantations. It has never been recorded within other modified monocultures such as pineapple, tapioca, eucalyptus, and silver oak (Ganesh & Arumugam 2016). The new species is regularly killed by vehicular traffic on the ghat roads as attested by the type specimens that are comprised of road kills, especially during the monsoons (June-September). This is a potentially threatened species as its entire geographic range that covers only a single hill range, is outside any protected area network and is undergoing a continual onslaught of anthropogenic pressures resulting in population declines (see Ganesh & Arumugam 2015).

DISCUSSION
Uropeltis rajendrani sp. nov. is the 25 th species in the genus Uropeltis to be described. It is the second recently described species in this genus (after U. bhupathyi Jins et al., 2018) as well as from this hill complex (after Rhinophis goweri Aengals & Ganesh, 2013). This finding of undocumented diversity of uropeltid snakes from the southern Eastern Ghats is in agreement with the discovery of R. goweri by Aengals & Ganesh (2013) and the revival of U. shorttii (Beddome, 1863) by Ganesh et al. (2014). The new species is sympatric with R. goweri and is allopatric with U. shorttii that is endemic to a northerly massif-the Shevaroys (see Ganesh et al. 2014;Ganesh & Arumugam 2016). Taxonomically, this population was discovered only recently and has been previously referred to as Uropeltis cf. ceylanica by Ganesh & Arumugam (2016). This is in contrast with description of U. bhupathyi as it is a long-known taxon, but misrepresented as U. ellioti sensu lato (see Jins et al. 2018).
Massifs in the southern Eastern Ghats contain disjunct, elevated (1,400m) hill ranges. This provides an ideal setting for the evolution of a distinct assemblage of hill forest herpetofauna in the upper reaches, as has been discovered by Ganesh & Arumugam (2016) and Ganesh et al. (2018). Precisely, the Kolli Hill complex, is an emerging center of reptile endemism as exemplified by the finding of other range-restricted reptiles such as the new geckoes Hemiphyllodactylus kolliensis and Hemidactylus kolliensis (see Agarwal et al. 2019a,b),