Citizen science unveils new shieldtail snake Rhinophis siruvaniensis in Western Ghats plantations

Key facts

• Rhinophis siruvaniensis, a new burrowing shieldtail snake, was discovered in a coffee plantation at Jellipara village, Palakkad district, Kerala.
• The species was formally described in the journal Evolutionary Systematics by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Wayanad Wild and the Kalinga Foundation.
• Shieldtails belong to the Uropeltidae family; India and Sri Lanka together host 73 known species, with the genus Rhinophis containing 26 species.
• Genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA shows R. siruvaniensis is a 2–4% sequence divergent sister taxon to R. melanoleucus from Wayanad.
• The study relied on three specimens collected outside protected areas, highlighting that unknown biodiversity can persist in plantation landscapes.
• Researchers preserved specimens in ethanol, examined scale counts and colour patterns under a stereo microscope and amplified mitochondrial DNA via PCR for species delimitation.
• Herpetologists caution that exclusive use of mitochondrial DNA can mislead taxonomy; nuclear DNA or low-coverage genome sequencing is needed for firmer species status confirmation.
• Burrowing snakes possess highly specialised skulls and narrow diets, making them vulnerable to climate change and soil perturbations.
• The Shieldtail Mapping Project (SMP), a citizen-science platform founded in 2021, has already geo-referenced over 1,200 shieldtail records, six-fold the data gathered by a single researcher in a decade.
• Future work will micro-CT scan shieldtail skulls to test whether environmental conditions drive morphological change, continuing collaboration between Indian and London Natural History Museum researchers.