SPECIES OF THE MONTH: JANUARY 2012

BOMBAY SNAKE!

Photo Courtesy: Down to Earth

                                                                                   
Kingdom :Animalia
Phylum   :Chordata
Class       :Reptilia
Order      :Squamata
Suborder :Serpentes
Family     :Colubridae
Subfamily:Colubrinae
Genus      :Dendrelaphis
Species     :Dendrelaphis girii


A snake species found only in the Western Ghats has been given the scientific name 'Dendrelaphis girii', after Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) scientist Varad B Giri. In 2009, Dr Gernot Vogel, an expert on snake taxonomy from Germany, visited BNHS to study the specimens of Dendrelaphis in its museum. During this visit, Giri showed him the interesting specimens of Dendrelaphis from Amboli, Goa and Castle Rock. He informed Vogel that this appeared to be a new species.


Vogel inspected these and other similar specimens in the BNHS collection. Based on the data and photographs taken by snake expert Ashok Captain, Vogel and his colleague, Dr Johan Van Rooijen submitted a scientific paper that was published in a science journal, Taprobanica, recently. Vogel and Van Rooijen named the species as Dendrelaphis girii. The species of Dendrelaphis identified by the combination of characters like two loreal scales (that lie between eyes and nostrils) on each side of the head; 15 rows of scales dorsal at mid-body; enlarged vertebral scales; 166-173 ventrals (scales on the belly); 140-147 subcaudals (scales below the tail) and other characters.


The new species has a black stripe behind the eye that barely extends onto the neck. In 2001, a team of nature enthusiasts lead by Ashok Captain and Kedar Bhide had encountered the species of snake at Amboli in Sindhudurg district. They both tried to identify that snake using scientific techniques and concluded that the particular reptile is very close to Dendrelaphis bifrenalis, a species of snake from Sri Lanka.Giri and Kehimkar also encountered the same species of snake in the forests of Castle Rock, Karnataka and Amboli during their subsequent visits. These specimens were brought to BNHS by Giri for further observations and study.


News Courtesy: Times of India