A new shieldtail species, Rhinophis siruvaniensis, has been described with the help of citizen scientists after it was found recently in the Siruvani Hills which fall in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
About Rhinophis siruvaniensis
It is a new species of shieldtail snake.
It was discovered in Siruvani Hills, located in the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
A shiny snake, R. siruvaniensis is brownish black and creamy white in colour, with bold dark blotches
The tip of its tail is dome-shaped.
Key Facts about Shieldtail Snakes
Shieldtails are a group of small-sized, non-venomous snakes that burrow in the soil and mostly live underground
They belong to the Uropeltidae family of snakes and are also called uropeltids
They’ve been named shieldtails because the tip of their tails looks like a disc-shaped shield.
Distribution:
They are endemic to India & Sri Lanka.
In India, they are found in the Western Ghats and some parts of Peninsular India
IAS-2026 - OPTIONAL / GEOGRAPHY / PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / SOCIOLOGY / ANTHROPOLOGY / ORIENTATION ON 03 & 04-10-2025 
