Anomochilus

The Anomochilidae, or anomochilids, are a monotypic family of snakes, created for the genus Anomochilus,[2][3] which currently contains three species.[4] It is commonly called dwarf pipe snake.[2]

Anomochilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Infraorder: Alethinophidia
Superfamily: Uropeltoidea
Family: Anomochilidae
Cundall, Wallach & Rossman, 1993
Genus: Anomochilus
Berg, 1901
Synonyms

Description

Anomochilids are small snakes, with museum specimens measuring up to 52 cm (20 in) in total length (including tail).[5] The eyes are reduced, and there are no teeth on the premaxiila, pterygoid, or palatine. A tracheal lung is absent. Anomochilids retain some pelvic elements, indicated externally by cloacal spurs. The tails are relatively short.[6] Females have two well developed oviducts. Anomochilids have white or yellow patterns against a darker reddish background.

Behaviour and habitat

Anomochilids are probably fossorial.[5]

Diet

Cranial and dentary morphology suggests that anomochilids probably eat small invertebrates.

Reproduction

One of the museum specimens of Anomochilus was found to contain four eggs, suggesting oviparity, but nothing else is known of anomochilid reproduction or behavior.

Taxonomy

Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Anomochilus is morphologically intermediate between the infraorder Scolecophidia (blindsnakes) and the infraorder Alethinophidia (true snakes), and is sister to all other alethinophidians.

The genus Anomochilus has in the past been placed in the family Aniliidae.[7]

The three species of anomochilids much resemble those of the family Cylindrophiidae (Asian pipesnakes). However, anomochilids lack both a chin groove and teeth on their pterygoid.

Geographic range

They are found in West Malaysia and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.[1]

Species
Species[4] Taxon author[4] Common name Geographic range[1]
A. leonardi M.A. Smith, 1940 Leonard's pipe snake West Malaysia in Selangor and Pahang.
A. weberiT (Lidth de Jeude In Weber, 1890) Weber's pipe snake Indonesia on the island of Sumatra.
A. monticola Das, Lakim, Lim & Hui, 2008 mountain pipe snake Borneo

T) Type species.[1]

Taxonomic history

The name of the genus was originally Anomolochilus, which was given to it by T.W. van Lidth de Jeude in 1890. In 1901, C. Berg pointed out the name was already occupied by a genus of Coleoptera (beetles), and he proposed as a replacement the name Anomochilus.[8]

The genus, together with Cylindrophis, was previously assigned to the subfamily Cylindrophinae under the family Uropeltidae, but both were removed by Cundall et al. (1993) to prevent a paraphyletic relationship.[1]

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References
  1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 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).
  2. "Anomochilidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  3. Anomochilidae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 11 November 2015.
  4. Anomochilus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 11 November 2015.
  5. Das, I.; Lakim, M.; Lim, K.K.P. & Hui, T.H. (2008). "New species of Anomochilus from Borneo (Squamata: Anomochilidae)" (PDF). Journal of Herpetology. 42 (3): 584–591. doi:10.1670/07-154.1. JSTOR 40060554.
  6. Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume I. London. p. 134.
  7. Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR. 1978. Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Aniliidae, Anomochilus, p. 315).
  8. Anomochilus weberi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 11 November 2015.

Further reading
  • Berg, "Charles". 1901. "Herpetological Notes". Comunicaciones del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires 1 (8): 289–291. (Anomochilus, new name, p. 289). (in English).
  • Cundall D, Wallach V, Rossman DA. 1993. "The systematic relationships of the snake genus Anomochilus ". Zool. J. Linnean Soc. 109 (3): 275–299. (Anomochilidae, new family).
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