Blackish blind snake

The blackish blind snake (Anilios nigrescens) is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family native to south-eastern Australia.[2][3][4]

Blackish blind snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Anilios
Species:
A. nigrescens
Binomial name
Anilios nigrescens
(Gray, 1845)
Synonyms
  • Typhlops nigrescens
  • Typhlops rueppelli
  • Typhlops temminckii
  • Typhlops reginae
  • Typhlops polygrammicus nigrescens
  • Ramphotyphlops nigrescens
  • Typhlina polygrammica
  • Typhlina polygrammica nigrescens
  • Austrotyphlops nigrescens

Description

It is a small burrowing snake with small dark eyes, a forked tongue and smooth scale around its body which permits them to travel through soil. They can grow to a size of 23 inches, with the largest recorded at 32 inches. Colour is brown/purplish on top, with a light shade of pink on the belly. The tail features a pointed tip which is a harmless spur. They can be mistaken for earthworms. Blind snakes move in a side-to-side motion on the ground, but underground they slither with tunnels made by insects.[5]

Diet

The species lives most of its life underground feeding on ants, termites and their larvae. To find their food they flick their tongue to pick up the scent of an ant or termite trail and follow it back to the nest,[6] where they rake the ants into their mouth using their upper jaw and swallow the food whole.[5]

References
  1. Shea, G.; McDonald, P.; Fenner, A. (2018). "Anilios nigrescens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T102873712A102873715. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T102873712A102873715.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. "Ramphotyphlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  4. Anilios nigrescens at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 29 July 2018.
  5. Blind Snake by the Australian Museum
  6. Webb, Jonathan; Shine, Richard (1992). "To find an ant: trail-following in Australian blindsnakes(Typhlopidae)". Animal Behaviour. 43 (6): 941–948. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(06)80007-2. S2CID 53165253.
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