Uropeltis ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954

Pyron, Robert Alexander & Somaweera, Ruchira, 2019, Further notes on the Sri Lankan uropeltid snakes Rhinophis saffragamus (Kelaart, 1853) and Uropeltis ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954, Zootaxa 4560 (3), pp. 592-600 : 592

Uropeltis ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954

As detailed by Pyron et al. (2016), Deraniyagala (1954) described Platyplectrurus ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954 and Uropeltis ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954 (both with type locality “Galle”) from specimens found in a jar containing snakes from both the Galle district of Sri Lanka and the Madurai district of India ( De Silva 1980). Thus, origin of the holotypes from Sri Lanka is in serious doubt. While recent works (e.g., McDiarmid et al. 1999; Wallach et al. 2014) considered Platyplectrurus ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954 to be a synonym of Platyplectrurus madurensis Beddome, 1877; Uropeltis ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954 was still considered valid (see Wallach et al. 2014). Pyron et al. (2016:464) compared the scalation of the holotype (NMSL R.S. 52) of Uropeltis ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954 to known populations of Uropeltis woodmasoni ( Theobald, 1876) , concluding that it was a member of that species. Here, we present photographs of NMSL R.S. 52 ( Fig. 1 ), as well as photographs of two syntypes of Silybura nigra Beddome, 1878 (MNHN-RA-1895.85a–b; Figs. 2 a–d), a junior synonym of Uropeltis woodmasoni ( Theobald, 1876) . In addition to the lepidosis data reported by Pyron et al. (2016), visual comparisons of the dorsal and ventral color-pattern further cement this association. The holotype (ZSI 8760) of Uropeltis woodmasoni ( Theobald, 1876) is in relatively poor condition, but photographs provided by I. Das are essentially identical to the nigra and ruhunae types in overall shape and remaining visible color-pattern. Specifically, hypertrophied anterior trunk musculature and “swollen” aspect of the first ~1/4 of body; irregular yellow stripe on the first several dorsal scale rows, beginning on posteriormost labials and extending ~1/4 the length of the body, dark brown dorsum with broken rings of yellow ocellations or speckles on the posteriormost ¾ of body, spaced 3-4 scale rows apart; and irregular yellow and brown zigzags or blotches on the venter, with yellow occasionally and irregularly extending on to the first few dorsal scale rows.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal (a) and ventral (b) views of the holotype (NMSL R. S. 52) of Uropeltis ruhunae Deraniyagala, 1954. Major ticks are 1 cm.

FIGURE 2. Syntypes (MNHN-RA-1895.95a–b, the latter re-catalogued as MNHN-RA-2012.421) of Silybura nigra Beddome, 1878, a junior synonym of Uropeltis woodmasoni (Theobald, 1876). From top to bottom: a) & b) dorsal and ventral views of MNHN-RA- 1895.95, c) & d) dorsal and ventral views of MNHN-RA-2012.421. Red scale bar is 1 cm.