Snake family · Shield-tailed snakes
Uropeltidae
Burrowing snakes with a bizarre, roughened tail tip.
About the Uropeltidae family
Shield-tailed snakes are specialized burrowers named for the odd, often disc-like or spiny shield at the end of the tail, which they use to plug their tunnels. They are small, harmless, and rarely seen above ground.
- Where they live
- The hills of southern India and Sri Lanka.
- How to recognize one
- Small, glossy, cylindrical, with tiny eyes and a distinctive truncated or rough tail tip.
- Danger to people
- Harmless. No venom.
Species (52)
Beddome's Black Earth SnakeMelanophidium punctatumHarmless
Bhupathy’s shieldtailUropeltis bhupathyiHarmless
Bicatenate UropeltisUropeltis bicatenataHarmless
Bicoloured shieldtailRhinophis melanoleucusHarmless
Blyth's Earth SnakeRhinophis blythiiHarmless
Bombay Earth SnakeUropeltis macrolepisHarmless
Boulenger's Earth SnakeUropeltis myhendraeHarmless
Cardamom Hills Earth SnakeRhinophis fergusonianusHarmless
Cuvier's Earth SnakeRhinophis philippinusHarmless
Deraniyagala’s ShieldtailRhinophis tricoloratusHarmless
Drummond-Hay's Earth SnakeRhinophis drummondhayiHarmless
Elliot's Earth SnakeUropeltis elliotiHarmless
Eranga Viraj’s shieldtail snakeRhinophis erangavirajiHarmless
Gray's Earth SnakeRhinophis melanogasterHarmless
Gunther's ShieldtailUropeltis arcticepsHarmless
Hewston's Earth SnakeTeretrurus hewstoniHarmless
Indian Black Earth SnakeMelanophidium wynaudenseHarmless
Indian Earth SnakeUropeltis pulneyensisHarmless
Karinthandan's shield tailRhinophis karinthandaniHarmless
Kerala Burrowing SnakePlectrurus aureusHarmless
Kerala ShieldtailUropeltis ceylanicaHarmless
Khaire's black earth snakeMelanophidium khaireiHarmless
Large Shieldtail SnakeRhinophis saffragamusHarmless
Madurai ShieldtailPlatyplectrurus madurensisHarmless
Madurai ShieldtailUropeltis madurensisHarmless
Matale ShieldtailRhinophis gunasekaraiHarmless
Mendis' ShieldtailRhinophis mendisiHarmless
Müller's Earth SnakeRhinophis punctatusHarmless
Nilgiri Burrowing SnakePlectrurus perrotetiHarmless
Nilgiri UropeltisUropeltis ocellataHarmless
Phillipps' Earth SnakeRhinophis phillipsiHarmless
Phipson's ShieldtailUropeltis phipsoniiHarmless
Red-lined Earth SnakeUropeltis rubrolineataHarmless
Red-spotted ShieldtailUropeltis rubromaculataHarmless
Roshan Perera's ShieldtailRhinophis roshanpereraiHarmless
Sabaragamuwa ShieldtailRhinophis martinHarmless
Salty Earth SnakeRhinophis sanguineusHarmless
Schneider's ShieldtailRhinophis oxyrhynchusHarmless
Shevaroy Hills earth snakeUropeltis shorttiiHarmless
Sirumalai Hills Earth SnakeUropeltis dindigalensisHarmless
Siruvani Hills ShieldtailRhinophis siruvaniensisHarmless
Spotted Earth SnakeUropeltis maculataHarmless
Striped RhinophisRhinophis lineatusHarmless
Tailspot UropeltisUropeltis caudomaculataHarmless
Teretrurus siruvaniensisHarmless
Three-lined ShieldtailPlatyplectrurus trilineatusHarmless- Travancore Earth SnakeTeretrurus travancoricusHarmless
Trevelyan's Earth SnakeRhinophis homolepisHarmless
Two-lined Black Earth SnakeMelanophidium bilineatumHarmless
Uropeltis jerdoniHarmless
Willey's Earth SnakeRhinophis porrectusHarmless- No photoTamil Nadu Earth SnakeRhinophis travancoricusHarmless
Genera in the Uropeltidae family
6 genera with two or more species. Open one to read about the group and browse all its snakes.
Keep learning
- What Is a Snake? Anatomy and the BasicsA clear overview of what makes a snake a snake: limbless body plan, anatomy, evolution from lizards, species diversity, and why they are ectothermic.
- How Snakes Move, Hunt, and EatHow snakes move without legs, hunt as ambushers or active foragers, kill by constriction or venom, and swallow prey wider than their head.
- What Do Snakes Eat?All snakes are carnivores. Learn what snakes eat, how diet changes with size and age, how often they feed, and how they hunt and swallow prey.
- Venomous vs Nonvenomous: How to Tell the DifferenceThe folk rules for telling venomous snakes apart, where each one fails, and why location-based identification beats guessing by sight.