Subspecies in India
This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).Taxonomic Information
Conservation and Special status
Photo Gallery and Species Biology
Melanophidium bilineatum - Two-lined Black Shieldtail
Type Locality: Wayanad (Kerala)
Rare, known to be found in small pockets in Western Ghats of Kerala (Srinivasulu et al., 2013)
The species occurs in wet evergreen forests in Kerala (Srinivasulu et al., 2013). The species is nocturnal and fossorial in habit (Srinivasulu et al., 2013). Nothing is known about population status of the species.
Conservation Status:
This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).The species is under threat due to tourism related developmental activities and vehicular movements (Srinivasulu et al., 2013).
| State | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | No date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | |||||||||||||
| Andhra Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Arunachal Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Assam | |||||||||||||
| Bihar | |||||||||||||
| Chandigarh | |||||||||||||
| Chhattisgarh | |||||||||||||
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | |||||||||||||
| Daman & Diu | |||||||||||||
| Delhi | |||||||||||||
| Goa | |||||||||||||
| Gujarat | |||||||||||||
| Haryana | |||||||||||||
| Himachal Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Jammu and Kashmir UT | |||||||||||||
| Jharkhand | |||||||||||||
| Karnataka | |||||||||||||
| Kerala | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Ladakh UT | |||||||||||||
| Lakshadweep | |||||||||||||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Maharashtra | |||||||||||||
| Manipur | |||||||||||||
| Meghalaya | |||||||||||||
| Mizoram | |||||||||||||
| Nagaland | |||||||||||||
| Odisha | |||||||||||||
| Paschimbanga | |||||||||||||
| Pondicherry | |||||||||||||
| Punjab | |||||||||||||
| Rajasthan | |||||||||||||
| Sikkim | |||||||||||||
| Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||
| Tripura | |||||||||||||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Uttarakhand | |||||||||||||
| West Bengal | |||||||||||||
| Total | 1 |
Other Notes
Page citation
Anonymous 2025. Melanophidium bilineatum Beddome, 1870 – Two-lined Black Shieldtail. In Kamdar, A. and K. Kunte. (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. v.1.26. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.indianreptiles.org/melanophidium-bilineatum, accessed 2025/10/31.