Afrotyphlops schlegelii

Afrotyphlops schlegelii
	Limpopo, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Afrotyphlops
Species:	A. schlegelii
Binomial name
	Afrotyphlops schlegelii; (Bianconi, 1847)
Synonyms
	Typhylops schlegelii; Bianconi, 1847; Onychocephalus schlegelii; — W. Peters, 1860; Typhlops schlegelii; — Boulenger, 1893; Rhinotyphlops schlegelii; — Roux-Estève, 1974; Megatyphlops schlegelii; — Broadley & Wallach, 2009; Afrotyphlops schlegelii; — Hedges et al., 2014;

Last updated July 23, 2022

Afrotyphlops schlegelii, commonly known as Schlegel's beaked blind snake^[2] or Schlegel's giant blind snake,^[1] is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.^[3]^[4]^[5] The species is endemic to eastern and southern Africa, and bears the distinction of being the world's largest typhlopid.^[2] It is harmless to humans and lives exclusively on a diet of termites.

Etymology

The specific name, schlegelii, is in honor of German herpetologist Hermann Schlegel.^[1]^[6]

Geographic range

A. schlegelii is found in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, southern Mozambique, northern Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, southern Sudan, Tanzania, northern Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.^[1]

Description

Three distinct color phases of A. schlegelii are found: uniform, blotched, or striped.

Uniform phase specimens are black to brown dorsally, straw-colored ventrally.
Blotched phase individuals have black to dark brown irregular blotches dorsally, and are yellow-green to yellow ventrally and on the sides.
The striped phase results from each scale being edged with black. These black lines merge with age.

The maximum recorded snout-vent length (SVL) is 95 cm (37+3⁄8 in).

The scales are arranged in 30-44 rows around the body. There are more than 300 scales in the vertebral row (maximum 623).^[2]

The snout is very prominent, with a sharp horizontal cutting edge, below which are located the nostrils. The rostral is very large, extending as far back as the eyes. The portion of the rostral visible from below is broader than long. There are four upper labials. The nasal is semidivided, the suture proceeding from the first upper labial. A preocular is present, narrower than the nasal or the ocular, in contact with the second and third upper labials. The eyes distinct, located below the suture between the preocular and the ocular. The diameter of the body goes 25 to 30 times in the total length. The tail is broader than long, ending in a spine.^[7]

Habitat

Afrotyphlops schlegelii is found in a variety of habitats, from sandveld to coastal bush.^[2]

Behavior

A. schlegelii is fossorial, and very large individuals are found deep underground.^[2]

Reproduction

A. schlegelii is oviparous. A female usually lays 12-40 eggs, but very large individuals may lay as many as 60. The eggs, which are laid in late spring or summer, measure 20–22 mm long by 10-12mm wide (3/4-7/8 inch x 3/8-7/16 inch). The eggs hatch in 5–6 weeks.^[2]

Infraspecific taxa

There are two subspecies:^[1]

Afrotyphlops schlegelii schlegelii(W. Peters, 1860)
Afrotyphlops schlegelii petersii(Bocage, 1873)

Note: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Afrotyphlops.

Related Research Articles

The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel-like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since they have no use for vision, their eyes are mostly vestigial. They have light-detecting black eye spots, and teeth occur in the upper jaw. Typhlopids do not have dislocatable lower jaw articulations restricting them to prey smaller than their oral aperture. The tail ends with a horn-like scale. Most of these species are oviparous. Currently, 18 genera are recognized containing over 200 species.

Letheobia simonii is a blind snake species endemic to the Middle East. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Rhinotyphlops is a genus of blind snakes in the family Typhlopidae. The genus is found in Africa, the Middle East, and India. Some species formerly assigned to the genus Rhinotyphlops have been moved to the genera Afrotyphlops and Letheobia.

Leptotyphlops nigricans, also known as the black threadsnake or black worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae. It is endemic to Africa.

Rhinotyphlops lalandei, known commonly as Delalande's beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

Rhinotyphlops schinzi, commonly known as Schinz's beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

Rhinotyphlops scorteccii, commonly known as Scortecci's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Somalia.

Letheobia somalica, also known as the highland beaked snake or Ethiopian blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. It is endemic to Ethiopia.

Rhinotyphlops unitaeniatus, commonly known as the yellow-striped blind snake or the Kenya beaked snake, is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family. It is endemic to Africa.

Bibron's blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

The Bahamian slender blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.

The blotched blind snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

Fornasini's blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

The Malawi blind snake, also known as the slender blind snake or southern gracile blind snake, is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family. It is endemic to Africa.

Schmidt's blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Central and Southern Africa.

Steinhaus's worm snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Central Africa.

Afrotyphlops is a genus of snakes in the family Typhlopidae.

The African giant blind snake, also called the Zambezi beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

The Usambara blotched blind-snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Afrotyphlops schlegelii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 4 January 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Rhinotyphlops schlegelii, p. 54 + Plate 39).
↑ Pyron, Robert Alexander; Burbrink, Frank T.; Wiens, John J. (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (1): 93–145. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-93. PMC 3682911 . PMID 23627680.
↑ McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
↑ "Megatyphlops schlegelii". Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Rhinotyphlops schlegelii, p. 235).
↑ Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History)., Volume I., Containing the Families Typhlopidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Typhlops schlegelii, pp. 44–45).