Burrowing snakes
| Burrowing snakes | ||||||||||||
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Sumatran burrowing snake ( Anomochilus weberi ), drawing from the first description from 1890 |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Anomochilidae | ||||||||||||
| Cundall , Wallach & Rossman , 1993 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Anomochilus | ||||||||||||
| Berg , 1901 |
The root snakes ( Anomochilus ) are a species of snake that is poor in species and occurs in Southeast Asia. The genus is the only one in the family Anomochilidae, which is one of the least known families of snakes, as only six specimens of two species kept in museums were known in 1993. Another species was described in 2008.
distribution
The three species of the genus occur on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula , in central Sumatra , as well as in southwest and northeast Borneo .
features
Burrowing snakes are small snakes that are only 17 to 50 cm long and have only a short tail. Your eyes are reduced, the premaxillary , wing bones and palatine bones are toothless. A tracheal lung is missing. Some bones of the pelvic girdle are still preserved, which is visible from the outside on the anal spurs next to the cloaca. The females have well-developed ovaries. In general, burrowing snakes are dark reddish in color and show whitish to yellowish markings.
Way of life
Burrowing snakes are likely burrowing animals that live in the ground. Skull and jaw anatomy suggest that they feed on small invertebrates. Their reproductive biology is unknown. Four eggs were found in one of the museum specimens.
Systematics
Morphologically, the burrowing snakes stand between the original blind snake-like (Scolecophidia) and the more modern snakes ( Alethinophidia ). In the past, the genus was assigned to the Aniliidae , the cylinder snakes (Cylindrophiidae) and the tails (Uropeltidae). Today they form an independent family and with the last two families named the superfamily Uropeltoidea .
species
There are three types:
- Anomochilus leonardi Smith, 1940
- Anomochilus monticola Das, Lakim, Lim & Hui, 2008
- Anomochilus weberi (Lidth de Jeude, 1890)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Anomochilus monticola in The Reptile Database
- ↑ a b c Ast, J. 2003. Anomochilidae, Animal Diversity Web
- ↑ Higher Taxa in Extant Reptiles, Suborder Ophidia (Serpentes) - Snakes in The Reptile Database
- ↑ Anomochilidae in The Reptile Database