Anilius
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The Aniliidae are a monotypic family<ref name="ITIS-F"/> created for the monotypic genus Anilius<ref name="ITIS-G">{{#if:209612 | {{#invoke:template wrapper|wrap|_template=cite web|_exclude=id,ID,taxon
| url = https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=209612 | title = Anilius | publisher = Integrated Taxonomic Information System }}
| Template:Citation error }}</ref> that contains the single species Anilius scytale.<ref name="ITIS-S">{{#if:209613 | {{#invoke:template wrapper|wrap|_template=cite web|_exclude=id,ID,taxon
| url = https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=209613 | title = Anilius scytale | publisher = Integrated Taxonomic Information System }}
| Template:Citation error }}</ref> Common names include the American pipe snake and false coral snake.<ref name="ITIS-F">{{#if:209611 | {{#invoke:template wrapper|wrap|_template=cite web|_exclude=id,ID,taxon
| url = https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=209611 | title = Aniliidae | publisher = Integrated Taxonomic Information System }}
| Template:Citation error }}</ref> It is found in South America. This snake possesses a vestigial pelvic girdle that is visible as a pair of cloacal spurs. It is ovoviviparous. It is non-venomous, and its diet consists mainly of amphibians and other reptiles. Two subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.<ref name="ITIS-S"/>
DescriptionEdit
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This species is found in the Amazon rainforest of South America, the Guianas, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is a moderate-sized snake attaining a size of about Template:Convert in length. It is fossorial and is rarely seen.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is reported to be ovoviviparous and feeds on beetles, caecilians (burrowing legless amphibians), amphisbaenids or worm lizards (legless lizards), small fossorial snakes, fish (particularly swamp eels), and frogs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It forages for food on the ground, and sometimes in the water, at night.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It has a cylindrical body of uniform diameter and a very short tail; it is brightly banded in red and black and its reduced eyes lie beneath large head scales. It is considered to be the snake that most resembles the original and ancestral snake condition, such as a lizard-like skull.<ref>Evolution – snake</ref>
Geographic rangeEdit
It is found in the tropics of northern South America from southern and eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana south through the Amazon Basin of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. The type locality given is "Indiis".<ref name="McD99"/>
SubspeciesEdit
| Subspecies<ref name="ITIS-S"/> | Taxon author<ref name="ITIS-S"/> | Common name | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. s. phelpsorum | Roze, 1958 | ||
| A. s. scytale | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
TaxonomyEdit
Modern classifications restrict the family to the South American pipe snake or false coral snake (Anilius scytale), with the previously included Asian genus Cylindrophis raised to a separate family, Cylindrophiidae. Anilius is not closely related to Asian pipesnakes. Instead, its closest relatives appear to be the neotropical Tropidophiidae.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Reynolds14">Template:Cite journal</ref>
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Boos HEA. 2001. The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. Template:ISBN.
- Martins M, Oliveira ME. 1999. Natural history of snakes in forests of the Manaus region, Central Amazonia, Brazil. Herpetological Natural History 6: 78-150. PDF Template:Webarchive.