Schmidt's blind snake

Schmidt's blind snake
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Afrotyphlops
Species:	A. schmidti
Binomial name
Afrotyphlops schmidti (Laurent, 1956)
Synonyms [2]
Typhlops schmidti Laurent, 1956 Rhinotyphlops schmidti — Wallach, 2003 Afrotyphlops schmidti — Hedges et al., 2014

Schmidt's blind snake (Afrotyphlops schmidti, ^[2] formerly Typhlops schmidti ^[3] ) is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Central and Southern Africa. ^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, schmidti, is in honor of American herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt. ^[4]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized: ^[2]

• Afrotyphlops schmidti schmidti (Laurent, 1956)
• Afrotyphlops schmidti laurenti (Laurent, 1968)

Geographic range

A. schmidti is found in Angola, Zambia, and eastern and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire). ^[2]

Reproduction

A. schmidti is oviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Bowles, P. (2021). "Afrotyphlops schmidti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T22476281A22476287. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T22476281A22476287.en . Retrieved 31 August 2025.
2. Afrotyphlops schmidti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 September 2020.
3. McDiarmid, Roy W.; Campbell, Jonathan A; Touré, T'Shaka A. (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). (Typhlops schmidti, p. 119).
4. 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 schmidti, p. 236).

Further reading

• 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. (Afrotyphlops schmidti, new combination).
• Laurent RF (1956). "Contribution à l'herpétologie de la région des Grandes Lacs de l'Afrique centrale". Annales du Musée royal de Congo belge (Sciences Zoologiques)48: 1–390. (Typhlops schmidti, new species, p. 71). (in French).
• Wallach V (2003). "Scolecophidia miscellanea ". Hamadryad27 (2): 222–240. (Rhinotyphlops schmidti, new combination, p. 232).