Travancore vine snake | |
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From Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Subfamily: | Ahaetuliinae |
Genus: | Ahaetulla |
Species: | A. travancorica
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Binomial name | |
Ahaetulla travancorica Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, Princia D'Souza, Shanker & Ganesh, 2020
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The Travancore vine snake (Ahaetulla travancorica), is a species of tree snake endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India.[1][2][3]
It was formerly considered conspecific with A. dispar (which is now considered to have a more northerly distribution in the Western Ghats), but a 2020 study found it to represent a new species.[1]
This species is endemic to the Agasthyamalai Hills of the southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The specimen that the species was described from originates from a single locality in Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary. The Shencottah Gap north of the Agasthyamalais separates it from its closest relative, A. dispar.[1]
This species is found in high-elevation shola forests in the Western Ghats above 1000 msl.[1]