wards off would-be predators. Geographic range Shield tail snakes are found in Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. In India, their distribution is mainly along the hills of the Western Ghats, and a few species occur in other areas such as the Eastern Ghats and the hills of Central India. In Sri Lanka, they occur in many biotopes including dry zone and the plains. Evolutionary significance Because of their peculiar geographic distribution, with many hill ranges in South India and Sri Lanka each having an endemic shield tail snake, they are thought to be analogous to Darwin's finches, in a broader sense – an evolutionary radiation. This is the only family of snakes endemic to South Asia. Genetic studies on this group have brought forth largely similar results as regards common ancestry and phenotypic diversification patterns. Molecular dating analysis has suggested that uropeltids originated around the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, splitting from its sister clade Cylindrophiidae + Anomochilidae around 56 MYA. Feeding The diets of shield tail snakes consist mostly of invertebrates, particularly earthworms, and many species have actually been observed in the wild by researchers to eat earthworms. Frank Wall, who dissected many species for analysing the gut contents to study the diet, remarks about the presence of worms and mud. Reproduction All members of the family Uropeltidae retain eggs that hatch within the body of the mother (ovoviviparity). Genera T Type genus. See also List of uropeltid species and subspecies References Further reading Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (Uropeltidae, p. 59). Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. . (Uropeltidae, pp. 197, 309, 320). Snake families Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller