Argyrophis diardii

Argyrophis diardii, known commonly as Diard's blind snake, the Indochinese blind snake, the large blind snake, or the large worm snake, is a species of harmless snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to South Asia and Southeast Asia.[3] There are two recognized subspecies.

Argyrophis diardii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Argyrophis
Species:	A. diardii
Binomial name
Argyrophis diardii Schlegel, 1839
Synonyms
Typhlops Diardii Schlegel, 1839 Typhlops Mülleri Schlegel, 1839 Typhlops nigro-albus A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844 Argyrophis bicolor Gray, 1845 Argyrophis Horsfieldii Gray, 1845 Typhlops striolatus W. Peters, 1861 T[yphlops]. (Typhlops) nigroalbus — Jan, 1863 T[yphlops]. (Typhlops) Schneideri Jan, 1863 T[yphlops]. (Typhlops) Diardi — Jan, 1863 T[yphlops]. (Typhlops) Mülleri — Jan, 1863 T[yphlops]. Diardi — Jan & Sordelli, 1864 T[yphlops]. bicolor — Jan & Sordelli, 1864 T[yphlops]. Mülleri — Jan & Sordelli, 1864 T[yphlops]. nigroalbus — Jan & Sordelli, 1864 Typhlops horsfieldii — Günther, 1864 T[yphlops]. Schneideri — Jan & Sordelli, 1865 Tychlpos Diardii — Steindachner, 1867 Typhlops barmanus Stoliczka, 1872 Typhlops diardi — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops muelleri — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops nigroalbus — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops schneideri — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops kapaladua Annandale, 1906 Typhlops tephrosoma Wall, 1908 [Typhlops diardi] var. cinereus Wall, 1909 Typhlops labialis Waite, 1918 Typhlops diardi diardi — M.A. Smith, 1923 Typhlops diardi nigroalbus — M.A. Smith, 1923 Typhlops fusconotus Brongersma, 1934 Typhlops diardi mülleri — Brongersma, 1934 Typhlops diardi — Bourret, 1936 Typhlops d[ardi]. tephrosoma — Bourret, 1936 Typhlops diardi diardi — Hahn, 1980 Typhlops muelleri — Hahn, 1980[1] Typhlops diardii — McDiarmid, Campbell & Touré, 1999 Asiatyphlops diardii — Hedges et al., 2014 Argyrophis diardii — Pyron & Wallach, 2014[2]

Geographic range

A. diardii is distributed in India (Jalpaiguri-West Bengal, as far west as Dun Valley in Assam), Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, Nias Island, Sumatra, Web Island (off northwest Sumatra), Bangka, and Borneo.[3]

Etymology

Both the specific name, diardii, and the common name, "Diard's blindsnake", are in honor of French naturalist Pierre-Médard Diard.[4][5]

Taxonomy

A. diardii was first described by Hermann Schlegel in 1839, as Typhlops Diardii.[4] The type locality of Schlegel's specimen was "Cochinchina [southern Vietnam]". Saint Girons (1972: 32) described it as "Cochinchina sans certitude [southern Vietnam without certainty]", and Hahn (1980: 56) as "East Indies".[1]

Two subspecies of Typhlops diardii are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies:[2]

• Argyrophis diardii diardii Schlegel, 1839[4]
• Argyrophis diardii platyventris Khan, 1998[6]

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. "Argyrophis diardii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. Papenfuss TJ (2010). "Typhlops diardii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)old-form url
4. Schlegel H (1839). Abbildungen neuer oder unvollständig bekannter Amphibien, nach der Natur oder dem Leben entworfen und mit einem erläuternden Texte begleitet. Düsseldorf: Arnz & Comp. xiv + 141 pp. ("Typhlops Diardii ", new species, p. 38). (in German).
5. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). "Typhlops diardi ". The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
6. Khan MS (1998). "Notes on Typhlops diardi Schlegel, 1839, with description of a new subspecies". Pakistan Journal of Zoology. 30 (3): 213−221.

Further reading

• 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 and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Typhlops diardi, pp. 22–23; T. muelleri, p. 25; T. nigroalbus, p. 24; T. schneideri, p. 27).
• Wallach V (2000). "Critical review of some recent descriptions of Pakistani Typhlops by M.S. Khan, 1999 (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)". Hamadryad 25 (2): 129-143.

External links

• Argyrophis diardii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 17 January 2015.