XYLOPHIS DEEPAKI

Subject: Environment

Context: Herpetologist Deepak Veerappan has a snake named after him.

Concept:

In the first four months of 2021, the Western Ghats presented new butterflies, frogs, fruit flies, and even a freshwater crab.
Joining the list is a tiny snake of just 20 cm length with iridescent scales – Xylophisdeepaki, first stumbled upon in a coconut plantation in Kanyakumari, is now reported to be an endemic species of Tamil Nadu and has been sighted in a few locations in the southern part of the Western Ghats.
The species is named in honour of Indian herpetologist Deepak Veerappan for his contribution in erecting a new subfamily Xylophiinae to accommodate wood snakes.
The team suggests the common name Deepak’s wood snake.

Wood snakes

Wood snakes are harmless, sub-fossorial and often found while digging soil in farms and under the logs in the Western Ghat forests.
They feed on earthworms and possibly other invertebrates.
Interestingly, their close relatives are found in northeast India and Southeast Asia and are known to be arboreal.