Ahaetulla isabellina

Wall's vine snake (Ahaetulla isabellina) is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India.[1][2][3]

Wall's vine snake
In Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Ahaetulla
Species:
A. isabellina
Binomial name
Ahaetulla isabellina
Wall, 1910

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered a subspecies of 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, elevating A. isabellina to species. The specific epithet is a reference to the isabelline yellow coloration of the species' dorsal body in live condition, which distinguishes it from other species in the complex.[1]

Ahaetulla isabellina from Western Ghats, Central Kerala
Ahaetulla isabellina from Western Ghats, Central Kerala

Geographic range

This species is distributed in the southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala south of the Palghat Gap, from the Anaimalai Hills south to kalakkad reserve forest area although more work is needed to determine the southern limit of the species' range.[1]

Habitat

This species is found in evergreen forests of the Western Ghats from ~550 m to 1475 msl.[1]

References
  1. 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.
  2. Staff Reporter (14 November 2020). "New species of vine snakes discovered". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  3. "The discovery of five new species of vine snakes in India". phys.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
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