Ophisops jerdonii

Ophisops jerdonii, commonly known as Jerdon's cabrita, Jerdon's snake-eye, or Punjab snake-eyed lacerta, is a species of lacertid lizard, which is distributed in east Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

Ophisops jerdonii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Ophisops
Species:
O. jerdonii
Binomial name
Ophisops jerdonii
(Blyth, 1853)
Synonyms
  • Ophiops jerdoni
    Blyth, 1853
  • Tropidosaura jerdoni
    — Theobald, 1868
  • Pseudophiops jerdoni
    — Jerdon, 1870
  • Ophiops jerdonii
    Boulenger, 1887 [2]
  • Ophisops jerdoni
    — M.A. Smith, 1935 [3]
  • Ophisops jerdonii
    — Sindaco & Jeremčenko, 2008 [4]

Etymology

The specific name, jerdonii, is in honor of British biologist Thomas C. Jerdon.[5]

Description

Head moderate, feebly depressed. Upper head-shields rugose, keeled and striated; nostril lateral, pierced between 3 or 4 shields, viz. an anterior, or an upper and a lower anterior nasal and two superposed postnasals ; a large frontonasal; frequently one or two small azygos shields between the pair of prefrontals; four supraoculars, first and fourth small, the two principal separated from the supraciliaries by a series of granules; occipital small, sometimes a little broader than the interparietal, with which it forms a suture; subocular bordering the lip, between the fourth and fifth (or third and fourth) upper labials; temporal scales small, keeled; one or two large subtemporal shields border the parietals externally; tympanic shield small or indistinct. No gular fold extending from ear to ear; collar quite indistinct. Dorsal scales large, strongly keeled, much imbricate, scarcely larger on the back than on the sides; 28 to 35 scales round the middle of the body (ventrals included). A large postero-median preanal plate. The hind limb reaches the shoulder or halfway between the latter and the ear in the male, not to axilla in the female; 7 to 11 femoral pores on each side. Tail once and a half to twice as long as head and body; caudal scales about as large as dorsals. Coppery-brown above, with two pale golden lateral streaks bordered with black, the upper extending from the supraciliaries to the tail, the lower from the upper lip to the groin; frequently a series of large black spots between the two lateral streaks; lower surfaces yellowish white.[6]

From snout to vent 1.65 inches (42 mm); tail 3.2 inches (81 mm).[6]

Central India (Saugor, Mhow), N.W. Provinces (Agra), Punjab, Sind, Madras Presidency (Bellary).[6]

References
  1. Khan, M.S. 2010. Ophisops jerdonii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T178461A7551632. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T178461A7551632.en. Downloaded on 15 May 2019.
  2. Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. Lacertidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Ophiops jerdonii, pp. 73-74).
  3. Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Ophisops jerdoni, pp. 377-378).
  4. "Ophisops jerdonii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ophisops jerdonii, p. 134).
  6. Boulenger GA (1890). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (Ophiops jerdonii, p. 174).

Further reading
  • Arnold EN (1989). "Towards a phylogeny and biogeography of the Lacertidae : relationships within an Old-World family of lizards derived from morphology". Bull. British Mus.(Nat. Hist.) Zool. 55 (2): 209–257.
  • Beddome RH (1870). "Descriptions of some new lizards from the Madras Presidency". Madras Monthly J. Med. Sci. 1: 30–35.
  • Blyth E (1854). "Notices and Descriptions of various Reptiles, new or little known [Part I]". J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 22 [1853]: 639–655. ("Ophiops Jerdoni ", new species, p. 653).
  • Böhme W, Bischoff W (1991). "On the proper denomination of Cabrita jerdonii Beddome, 1870 (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". Amphibia-Reptilia 12: 220–221.
  • Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Ophisops jerdoni, p. 103).
  • Das, Indraneil; Dattagupta, Basudeb (1997). "Rediscovery of the holotypes of Ophisops jerdoni Blyth, 1853 and Barkudia insularis Annandale, 1917". Hamadryad 22 (1): 53–55.
  • Jerdon TC (1870). "Notes on Indian Herpetology". Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 1870 (March 1870): 66–85.


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