Shieldtail Snake

The Shieldtail snakes belong to the family of Uropeltidae, and the shieldtail snake is one among 45 species of primitive burrowing snakes endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka. There are around eight varieties of shield tail snakes in nature and nearly 30 species are inhabited in India, 18 species belong to the genus Uropeltis, and of the 15 found inhabited in Sri Lanka, 8 of them belong to the genus Rhinophis. The Shield tail snakes are tiny, typically reaching around 25 to 50 centimetres (which makes 10 and 20 inches) long,  a few can reach 90 centimetres (35 inches).

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These are distinctive, harmless snakes with narrow, pointed heads with small eyes below the head shield. The Shieldtails are popularly known for their unique tails, which have many spines and end in a disk-shaped shield or many spikes in most species. Most species are black, purple or brown, but some are coloured with red, orange or yellow spots and stripes; all very shiny.

The shieldtailed snakes are a family of primitive, non-venomous burrowing snakes, endemic to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The name is derived from the Greek words ura which refers to tail and pelte which means shield, indicating the presence of a large keratin shield at the end of the tail. Seven or eight genera are recognized, counting on whether Teretrurus rhodogaster is taken into account as its own genus or a part of Brachyophidium. This family includes more than 50 species. These snakes are not well known for their diversity, biology, and natural history.

Shield Tail Snake

Mantis are nocturnal and live at higher altitudes on loose soil, tree roots, under rotten vegetation, and on-farm beds. They dig their own tunnel sealed with a disc-shaped tail for purchase during excavation. This prevents other predatory snakes from attacking from behind. When faced, their defensive action is defecation. Their diet is mainly earthworms. However, some species also consume arthropods. The shield tail is completely harmless and does not bite. They give birth to 3-9 young creatures.

These are small adult snakes 20-75 cm long. They are adapted to the excavated lifestyle, which is evident in their anatomy. The skull is primitive and solid, with short, upright square bones and a hard jaw. The colonised bone remains in the lower jaw. There is no orbital bone, the forehead bone is the vestibule, the eyes are small and degenerate, and are covered with a large polygonal shield rather than a bridle. However, in this family, the pelvis and hind limbs were gone, and their presence was also considered a primitive feature.

The tail is characteristic and terminates in an enlarged two-headed scab, or usually a rounded top and a thick thorny scale on the underside, or a patch of much larger thorns. The scales on the abdomen are very small. The body is cylindrical and covered with fine scales.

The Salient Features of the Shield Tail Snake

Generally, in nature, we see there are thousands of species of snakes available. But every species of snake has its own unique characteristics which distinguish it from every other species. The snakes are either poisonous or lightly poisonous, to learn the snake in detail, it is important to study the features of the snake under consideration. We can learn the shieldtail snake facts with the help of the salient features exhibited by the shield tail snake.

Let us have a look at the salient features of the shieldtail snake which includes its physical characteristics, habitat, diet, life cycle, etc.

1. Description of the Shield Tail Snake

Almost all the forty-seven species of shieldtail snakes have a head that receives narrower and narrower till it comes to a degree on the give up. In a few species, the top receives narrower from aspect to aspect, and in others, it narrows from pinnacle to bottom. The pointed snout is included with thick scales fabricated from fingernail-like material, and in a few snakes, a mainly big scale makes a roof over the pinnacle of the snout. 

Many species have a big scale on the very give up of the tail. This big-scale seems something like a guard, that is how the snakes were given their not unusual place call of shieldtails. The big tail scale can also additionally have ridges or keels, or it can be included with spines. Often, the snake has different thick and keeled scales that shape a flattened oval simply in the front of the guard scale. If the snakes stay in moist regions, those keels and spines can choose up and maintain mud, which can also add shape right into a big clump.

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Shieldtail snakes are usually small snakes, with maximum adults developing too much less than 12 inches (30 centimetres) in length. Some develop longer, and some which include the Rhinophis oxyrhynchus and Uropeltis ocellatus can attain almost 24 inches (sixty-one centimetres) in length.

2. The Habitat And Distribution of The Shield Tail Snake

Shieldtail snakes make their houses in forests that can be in low regions or on the perimeters of mountains, normally those who prefer locations with wet or moist floors. They additionally stay in gardens and farm fields, inclusive of rubber plantations. Unlike maximum digging snakes that most effectively push via free soil, the shieldtails may also tunnel via pretty hard, clay soils. In addition, they may scoot below leaves or logs.

Shieldtail snakes stay in southern India and in Sri Lanka or Ceylon, which is positioned off India's southern coast.

They are located in Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. In India, their distribution is specifically alongside the hills of Western Ghats, and some species arise in different regions which include the Eastern Ghats and hills of Central India. In Sri Lanka, they arise in lots of biotopes inclusive of the dry regions and the plains.

3. The Diet of the Shield Tail Snake:

Shieldtails specifically consume worms, however, a few species may also consume caterpillars and termites, and at least one species in captivity will consume earwigs. Earwigs are small bugs with a couple of pincers at the end of the frame. After analyzing how numerous species consume worms, scientists located that the snakes both take hold of the malicious program on the give up or withinside the centre and fast drag them returned into the burrow. Our bodies of these worms stuck withinside the centrefold in 1/2 of as they're dragged into the snake's slender burrow.

Some scientists consider that the shieldtail snakes burrow via the floor with an atypical jerking motion. According to this idea, the snakes twist up the spine at the back of the top so that it's far curved from side to side, after which they quickly push the spine out directly to burst the top ahead. In different words, the returned acts like spring; this is squeezed collectively after which it is free. By repeating this motion and scooting up the frame every time, the snake digs via the soil. This is the identical form of jerking motion utilized by pipe snakes, however, pipe snakes use it to pressure the top ahead as a manner of gulping down big prey.

4. The Behaviour of the Shield Tail Snake

The shield tail snakes are most often during the rainy season i.e., found after rains when they emerge from their burrows. When caught, they tend to coil the anterior trunk around whatever is holding them and wave the caudal trunk around as though it were ahead. When placed on the ground, they move rapidly with the head pointed downward until a soft area is found. They frequently burrow themselves rapidly into the soil once they find a suitable area.

The shieldtails live hiding in the underground most of the time, but most of them will come up to the surface after a good rain, and at least one species will then begin hunting for worms. If the snakes feel threatened, they will wiggle away while looking for some loose soil and then force the head into the ground to start tunnelling. 

They are expert diggers and can tunnel quickly. If they are provoked with a stick or if they get attacked, then these snakes will coil around the stick or other object and begin waving the tail end of the body. Usually, the attackers (predators) get confused with the head and tail. The snake can survive an attack on the tail much better than an attack on the head, so the tail waving may save its life. It is also possible that some attacking predators may get scared by tail-waving behaviour.

5. Reproduction

Shielded tail snakes are carnivorous snakes that give birth to a small number of relatively large snakes. The largest reproductive size recorded is 9 for uropertis tubal eggs, but litter size for most species ranges from 2 to 5 depending on the size of the female. The seasons and breeding habits are not well understood. It has been reported that juveniles of various species are found somewhere between March and September, and females with embryos are harvested during most of the leap month. In most species, the embryo is found in the right fallopian tube, but in some species (eg) phipsonii). The embryo was found in the left fallopian tube. 

Female armoured tail snakes give birth instead of eggs. They usually give birth to 2 to 5 young mothers at a time, with older women giving birth to more young mothers. Breeding can take place from March to September. 

6. Conservation Status

These species of Uropeltidae are not listed under the list of endangered or threatened, but scientists have very few shieldtail snake facts and know very little about the size of these snakes and their populations.

These are important features one should study to learn more about shieldtail snake facts.

Shieldtail Facts and Types

There are very few known facts about the shieldtail snake. Before we start with the shieldtail snake facts, let us have a look at the types of these snakes available in nature. There is much recent identification of the new species of this family. Two particular species of shieldtail snake are often found and recognised. Let us discuss these species one by one:

1. Nilgiris Burrowing Snake

The scientific name for the Nilgiri burrowing snake is Plecttrurus perrotetii. These were first discovered in 1851 at Nilgiri Hill, Tamil Nadu, southwestern India.

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Description

Medium to large uropeltidae, reaching 17.3 inches (44 cm) long, are uniformly brown or fuchsia on top, yellow or light brown on the bottom, or have lighter spots in the centre of each scale. The dorsal and ventral sides of the head are slightly compressed and the caudal side is compressed. The tip of the tail is made up of a single laterally compressed cup-shaped scale, with two larger spines, one on top of the other, and smaller spines on the sides. The body is cylindrical, and the ventral side is about one and a half times the width of the dorsal scale. Like the Platyplectrurus and Teretrurus species, Plectrurus Perrotti has eye scales that separate the eye mask from the frontal lobe. 

Habitat and Distribution

These are mainly inhabited in the Nilgiri and Anamalai Mountains, which are high altitude areas of the Ghats in southern India. Most specimens come from cultivated land or gardens. It is commonly found in fertile soils at depths of 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm). 

Medium to large Uuropeltids, up to 17.3 inches (44 cm) in length, the topcoat is uniformly brown or slightly purple, the bottom coat is yellow or light brown, or has a lighter spot in the centre of each scale. The dorsal and ventral sides of the head are slightly compressed and the caudal side is compressed. 

The tip of the tail is made up of a single laterally compressed cup-shaped scale, with two larger spines, one on top of the other, and smaller spines on the sides. The body is cylindrical and the ventral side is about half the width of the dorsal scales. Like the Platyplectrurus and Teretrurus species, Plectrurus Perrotti has eye scales that separate the eye mask from the frontal lobe. 

Diet

This species mainly feeds on worms. 

Reproduction

These are viviparous, 3-6 cubs born in July or August.

2. Phipson's Shieldtail Snake

The scientific name for Phipson's Burrowing Snake is Uropeltis phipsoni. These were first discovered in 1888 as the "Mumbai Ghats". 

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Description

Largest of the uropeltidae, over 11.8 inches (30 cm) in length. These snakes are dark brown on top and lighter on the underside, with yellow stripes on the tail, intersecting on the ventral side of the anal scales, and a variable number of yellow triangles extending upward from the abdominal scales of the frontal trunk. The ventral and adjacent scales have a dark brown base (front half) and yellow margins. The ventral side is almost twice the width of the adjacent scales. The head is significantly smaller than the neck (front trunk). 

Habitat and Distribution

These were originally found in a dense forest but were replaced by a rubber plantation. During the dry season (which lasts for about three months), the soil in which these snakes live becomes very hard. It is approximately 500 m (1,640 ft) from sea level to the Western Ghats in South India. 

Diet

The stomach contents of wild-caught specimens only contain earthworms and humus, but captive specimens can also eat earwigs. Under captivity, the species will emerge from the tunnel at night to feed on the ground. Earthworms thrown on the surface will be immediately caught and taken into the tunnel. 

Reproduction

The Phipson’s shield tail snake gives birth in March or April. In this species, the maximum number of fallopian tube embryos found in uropeltid is 9.

The shield tail snakes are most often during the rainy season i.e., found after rains when they emerge from their burrows. When caught, they tend to coil the anterior trunk around whatever is holding them and wave the caudal trunk around as though it were ahead. When placed on the ground, they move rapidly with the head pointed downward until a soft area is found. They frequently burrow themselves rapidly into the soil once they find a suitable area.