Gerrhopilus thurstoni

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]

Gerrhopilus thurstoni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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

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 Main 1890: 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 Series 13: 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).



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