The Malabar vine snake (Ahaetulla malabarica), is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern portion of the central Western Ghats of India.[1][2][3]
| Malabar vine snake | |
|---|---|
| |
| At Tadiandamol, Karnataka | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Ahaetulla |
| Species: | A. malabarica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ahaetulla malabarica Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, Princia D'Souza, Shanker, and Ganesh, 2020
| |
Taxonomy edit
It was formerly considered conspecific with A. nasuta, which is now considered to only be endemic to Sri Lanka. A 2020 study found A. nasuta to be a species complex of A. nasuta sensu stricto as well as A. borealis, A. farnsworthi, A. isabellina, and A. malabarica.[1]
Geographic range edit
This species is distributed in the southern portion of the central Western Ghats, from the Palghat Gap in Tamil Nadu and Kerala north to Tadiandamol in Karnataka. A. farnsworthi is found to the north of the species' range and may be sympatric with it at Coorg (although largely separated by rivers), while A. isabellina is found to the south of the species' range, being separated from it by the Palghat Gap.[1]
Habitat edit
The species is found in mid-elevation evergreen forests in the Western Ghats from ~650 to 1400 msl.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Srikanthan, Achyuthan N.; Pal, Saunak P.; D’souza, Princia Margaret; Shanker, Kartik; Ganesh, Sumaithangi Rajagopalan (6 November 2020). "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): zootaxa.4874.1.1. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4874.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 33311335. S2CID 228823754.
- ^ Staff Reporter (14 November 2020). "New species of vine snakes discovered". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "The discovery of five new species of vine snakes in India". phys.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.