First records of the Dumeril ’ s Black-headed Snake Sibynophis subpunctatus ( Duméril , Bibron & Duméril , 1854 ) ( Reptilia , Colubridae ) from Telangana state , India

Of all the Ophidiofaunal diversity in mainland India, some species occurrences are assumed to be rare. The same is the scenario with the underrepresented regions in Telangana state, India. Here we present the first report of the occurrence of the little known colubrid, Sibynophis subpunctatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854), from northern and southern forest reserves in Komaram Bheem-Asifabad and Nagarkurnool districts of Telangana. This species’ current distribution and natural history are also discussed herein.

Sibynophis subpunctatus (Fig. 1), commonly known as Duméril's Black-headed Snake or Jerdon's Manytoothed Snake, is a species of non-venomous colubrid endemic to Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka (Whitaker and Captain 2004).This species was earlier recorded from Sundipenta in central Nallamalla hills in Kurnool district of the former united Andhra Pradesh (Rao et al.

NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
2005, Srinivasulu and Das 2008, Srinivasulu et al. 2014).The reptilian diversity of Telangana is underrepresented and has received less attention for study and conservation compared to the relatively better-known Western Ghats (Srinivasulu and Das 2008).To date this species was not documented in Telangana state, India.In this paper, we report the first data on this species presence and provide notes on its natural history.
The specimen images along with the head characterization and the habitat photo vouchers were deposited in the Natural History Museum (NHM.OU), collection of the Department of Zoology, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, with voucher number NMH.OU.REP.PV-1.2015.

Identification
The individuals were photographed and identified based on the characteristics of the dorsal surface of the head, body coloration pattern, 9 supralabials, and 2 anterior temporals (Fig. 3), and approximate total length of about 40 cm following Whitaker and Captain (2004) and Captain et al. (2004).The specimens are observed to be slender-bodied with smooth scales.Body and tail are brown in color, with a series of tiny black dots that run along the mid-dorsal region, and a gradually tapering tail lacking black rings.

Discussion
Sibynophis subpunctatus is a nocturnal and crepuscular species of terrestrial activity, found in a variety of forest habitats, including rainforests, mixed, moist and dry deciduous forests, scrub lands, semi-desert, rocky terrain of both moderate elevation hills, and lowland plains.This species resides in insect holes, under dense leaf litter under the soil, loose soil filled with cavities and cracks, loose roots of plants and is known to prey upon on other small snakes, skinks, and geckos (Whitaker andCaptain 2004, Srinivasulu et al. 2014).The habitat in the localities where this species was sighted is dry deciduous forest (Champion and Seth 1968) with dense leaf litter and perineal hill streams (Fig. 4).The predominant tree species found in the locality are Borassus    Bheem-Asifabad district, Telangana showed that the species is typically serpentine in nature with quick locomotion and swimming reflexes.This species is most likely under threat due to its misidentification with the venomous Slender Coral snake (Calliophis melanurus Shaw, 1802) (Whitaker and Captain 2004).
The recent sightings of S. subpunctatus from hitherto unknown locations indicates the need for further dedicated herpetological explorations in Telangana.Further surveys would be helpful in collating information about present day population, diversity, status, and threats to the species and its habitat.This will aid in better understanding and conservation of the Duméril's black-headed snake in Telangana.