1-foot-long creature with ‘tail shield’ found at India farm. It’s a new species
On a farm in southern India, agricultural workers dug into the damp soil and uncovered a 1-foot-long creature with “distinct” eyes. Something about the “lustrous” animal caught the attention of nearby scientists — and for good reason.
It turned out to be a new species.
A team of researchers visited several coffee and cardamom plantations in the Siruvani Hills between 2015 and 2020 as part of a project to document burrowing reptiles, according to a study published Oct. 17 in the peer-reviewed journal Evolutionary Systematics.
During their farm surveys, researchers encountered four unfamiliar-looking snakes found “during agricultural digging operations,” the study said. Intrigued, they took a closer look at the animals, analyzed their DNA and realized they’d discovered a new species: Rhinophis siruvaniensis, or the Siruvani shieldtail snake.
Siruvani shieldtail snakes have “elongated and cylindrical” bodies reaching up to about 1 foot in length, the study said. Their “small” heads have “a pointed snout” and “distinct” eyes. Their tails have a unique scale pattern, described as a “large, dome-shaped tail shield.”
Photos show the “dark brownish black” coloring of the new species. Its scales are “smooth,” giving it a “lustrous” appearance, researchers said.
Seen from below, the snakes have a “creamy white” stomach with “large, bold, brownish black blotches,” the study said.
Siruvani shieldtail snakes were “typically found under fallen logs and rocks or during minor digging operations inside plantations at a depth of about 30 cm (12 inches),” researchers said. The snakes have burrowing lifestyles, likely “feed on earthworms” and are sometimes seen crossing paved roads.
“Local farmers also reported that these snakes are sometimes inadvertently wounded or killed while digging during their usual course of routine work,” the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Siruvani Hills where it was first discovered and, so far, the only area where it has been found. The Siruvani Hills stretches across the eastern part of Kerala and western part of Tamil Nadu, neighboring states in the southern part of India.
The new species was identified by its DNA, coloring, scale pattern and other subtle physical features, the study said.
The research team included Vivek Philip Cyriac, P. K. Umesh, N. S. Achyuthan, Vidisha Kulkarni and S. R. Ganesh.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 1:51 PM with the headline "1-foot-long creature with ‘tail shield’ found at India farm. It’s a new species."
