Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Order Squamata | Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Suborder Serpentes | |
Aspidura drummondhayi, commonly known as Drummond-Hay's rough-sided snake or කෙටිවල් මැඩිල්ලා (ketiwal medilla) in Sinhala, is a colubrid species endemic to Sri Lanka.
Contents
Etymology
The specific name, drummondhayi, is in honor of Henry Maurice Drummond-Hay (1869-1932), who was a planter and naturalist in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and who was the son of Scottish ornithologist Colonel Henry Maurice Drummond-Hay (1814-1896).
Geographic range
A. drummondhayi is a burrowing snake from the low hills of southwestern Sri Lanka. Localities recorded are Balangoda region, and from Sinharaja, at elevations over 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
Description
The head is indistinct from the neck, and the body is cylindrical. The dorsum is chocolate-brown with faint mottling. A dark vertebral stripe, one scale wide, runs from the snout to the tail tip. There are two pairs of faint dark stripes on the paravertebral region of each side. The forehead is dark. The venter is light brown with faint mottling.
Scalation
The dorsal scales are arranged in 15 rows at midbody. Preoculars are absent. There are 2 postoculars which are in contact with the parietal. Ventrals 113-119. Subcaudals 18-26.
Reproduction
Known to lay 4 eggs at a time.