Gerrhopilus thurstoni

Gerrhopilus thurstoni
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Gerrhopilidae
Genus:	Gerrhopilus
Species:	G. thurstoni
Binomial name
Gerrhopilus thurstoni (Boettger, 1890)
Synonyms [2] [3]
Typhlops thurstoni Boettger, 1890 Typhlops thurstonii [sic] — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops walli Procter, 1924 Typhlops hurstonii [sic] Bourret, 1936 ( ex errore ) Gerrhopilus thurstoni — Hedges et al., 2014

Gerrhopilus thurstoni, or Thurston's worm snake, is a species of harmless blind snake in the family Gerrhopilidae. The species is native to western India. No recognized subspecies exist. ^[4]

Etymology

The specific name, thurstoni, is in honor of British zoologist Edgar Thurston. ^[5]

Geographic range

In western India, G. thurstoni has been found in southern Goa, from sea level to approximately 1,200 m elevation (4,000 feet), ^[2] and in Kerala. ^[3]

The type locality given is "Nilgiri Hills, Brit. Ostindien ". ^{[2] [3] [6]}

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of G. thurstoni is forest. ^[1]

Description

G. thurstoni may attain a total length (including tail) of 30 cm (12 in). The body is light brown or yellowish dorsally, and paler ventrally. The snout and the anal region are whitish. ^[7]

Reproduction

G. thurstoni is oviparous. ^[3]

References

1. Srinivasulu, B.; Srinivasulu, C.; Ganesan, S.R. (2013). "Gerrhopilus thurstoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013 e.T172715A1373521. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172715A1373521.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. 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).
3. Species Gerrhopilus thurstoni at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
4. "Typhlops thurstoni ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 1 September 2007.
5. 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. (Typhlops thurstoni, p. 265).
6. Boettger O (1890).
7. Smith MA (1943).

Further reading

• Boettger O (1890). "Neue Schlange aus Ostindien ". Berichte über die Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Frankfurt am Main1890: 297-298. (Typhlops thurstoni, new species). (in German and Latin).
• 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 & Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. ("Typhlops thurstonii [sic]", p. 26).
• Hedges SB, Marion AB, Lipp KM, Marin J, Vidal N (2014). "A taxonomic framework for typhlopid snakes from the Caribbean and other regions (Reptilia, Squamata)". Caribbean Herpetology (49): 1-61. (Gerrhopilus thurstoni, new combination).
• Procter JB (1924). "Description of a new Typhlops from S. India and Notes on Brachyophidium and Platyplectrurus ". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ninth Series13: 139-142. (Typhlops walli, new species).
• Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Typhlops thurstoni, p. 49).