Uropeltis shorttii

A small (< 30 cm (12 in) long) dark bluish black coloured burrowing snake, with distinct yellow cross bands across. Rostral visible from above, smaller than nasal, not completely separating nasals; nasals in contact with one another posteriorly, prefrontals not in contact with rostral, subequal in size to nasal and ocular scales; nasals pierced by nostril, divided by rostral anteriorly but in contact with each other posteriorly; prefrontals somewhat larger than nasals and oculars, subequal to frontal; frontal longer than broad, distinctly smaller than parietal; parietals large, largest of all head scales; supralabials 4,4 (left, right), 1st and 2nd ones small, 3rd below eye, 4th the largest; infralabials 3,3 (left, right), elongate; mental scale small, subequal to 1st infralabial, but as wide as long; body scales imbricate, cycloid; dorsally around body in 19 (one head length after neck): 17 (at midbody): 17–15 (one head length before vent) rows; ventrals 141–156 (148.5±10.6), angulate laterally; anals 2, left overlapping right, each larger than a body scale; subcaudals 10–12 pairs +1 terminal scale; tail shield distinctly truncate above, mildly concave, circumscribed and ridged; covered with 30–31 (30.5±0.7), bi- and tri-carinate thickened scales; 10 scales across the length and 4–5 (4.5±0.6) across the width of the tail shield.[4]

The dorsum is dark coffee brown with distinct bright yellow cross bars formed by series of yellow blotches across consecutive scales in dorsal scale rows; 34–47 (41±7.0) such cross bars present on body and tail; venter largely yellowish with dark brown spots and blotches, the dark spots restricted mostly to either side where ventral scales contact the outermost coastal scale rows; a pair of thick yellow stripes anteriorly along the neck and forebody on scale rows 3–5, the stripes extending to the level of the 36th–48th (42±8.4) ventral scale; the stripe passing through lower half of supralabials, below the ocular scale and upper half of infralabials; eye pale whitish-grey; inside of mouth pale pink; tongue of same colour, its tips lighter.

Named after its collector Dr. John Shortt, a medical physician with the then Madras Army, who donated the type specimens to Col. Richard Henry Beddome, who first described this species.[1]