NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Mendis’ rhino- phis or Mendis’ shieldtail
Rhinophis mendisi Gower, 2020
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Rhinophis mendisi, or Mendis’ shieldtail, is a recently described fossorial species of snake in the family Uropeltidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka and only known from its type locality, near Balangoda, Sabaragamuwa Province.
Wikipedia contributors, Rhinophis mendisi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:23:26.768069+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhinophis mendisi Gower, 2020
- Name authority
- Gower, 2020
- Common name
- Mendis’ rhino- phis or Mendis’ shieldtail
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Uropeltidae
- Genus
- Rhinophis
- 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
- genusRhinophis
- speciesRhinophis mendisi Gower, 2020
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rhinophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Polkadot Earth SnakeRhinophis dorsimaculatus Deraniyagala, 1941 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cardamom Hills Earth SnakeRhinophis fergusonianus Boulenger, 1896 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Striped RhinophisRhinophis lineatus Gower & Maduwage, 2011 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tamil Nadu Earth SnakeRhinophis travancoricus Boulenger, 1892 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zigzag RhinophisRhinophis zigzag Gower & Maduwage, 2011 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Drummond-Hay's Earth SnakeRhinophis drummondhayi Wall, 1921 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Blyth's Earth SnakeRhinophis blythii Kelaart, 1853 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Wayanad Earth SnakeRhinophis melanoleucus Cyriac, Narayanan, Sampaio, Umesh & Gower, 2020 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dinarzarde’s shieldtailRhinophis dinarzardae Gower, Sampaio, Vidanapathirana & Wickramasinghe, 2024 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eranga Viraj’s shieldtail snakeRhinophis erangaviraji Wickramasinghe, Vidanapathirana, Wickramasinghe & Ranwella, 2009 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gower's earth snakeRhinophis goweri Aengals & Ganesh, 2013 | UropeltidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Trevelyan's Earth SnakeRhinophis homolepis Hemprich, 1820 | 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.
- GOWER, DAVID J. (2020). A new species of Rhinophis Hemprich, 1820 (Serpentes: Uropeltidae) from southwestern Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 4810 (3): 495–510. 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:8H5WB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.