NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Two-lined Black Earth Snake
Melanophidium bilineatum Beddome, 1870
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Melanophidium bilineatum
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Open encyclopedia reference
Melanophidium bilineatum, commonly known as the two-lined black shield-tail snake or iridescent shield-tail snake, is a species of snake endemic to India. This species was known from only three specimens and very little information is available of it in the wild.
Wikipedia contributors, Melanophidium bilineatum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:47:08.104730+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melanophidium bilineatum Beddome, 1870
- Name authority
- Beddome, 1870
- Common name
- Two-lined Black Earth Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Uropeltidae
- Genus
- Melanophidium
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyUropeltidae
- genusMelanophidium
- speciesMelanophidium bilineatum Beddome, 1870
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Melanophidium. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Khaire's Earth SnakeMelanophidium khairei Gower, Giri, Captain & Wilkinson, 2016 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Beddome's Black Earth SnakeMelanophidium punctatum Beddome, 1871 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indian Black Earth SnakeMelanophidium wynaudense (Beddome, 1863) | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Melanophidium&species=bilineatum Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3Z9F3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.