Argyrophis diardii explained

Argyrophis diardii, commonly known 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. There are two recognized subspecies.

Taxonomy

A. diardii was first described by Hermann Schlegel in 1839, as Typhlops Diardii. 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".

Etymology

Both the specific name, diardii, and the common name, "Diard's blindsnake", are in honor of French naturalist Pierre-Médard Diard.^{[1] [2]}

Subspecies

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

• Argyrophis diardii diardii ^[1]
• Argyrophis diardii platyventris ^[3]

Description

A. diardii is heavy-bodied for a blindsnake. It has 22–25 scale rows around the body at midbody. The belly is distinctly flat.

Distribution and habitat

A. diardii is found 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.

The preferred natural habitats of A. diardii are forest, shrubland, and grassland, but it has also been found in agricultural areas.

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.

Notes and References

1. Book: Schlegel H. Hermann Schlegel. 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).
2. Book: Beolens, Bo . Watkins, Michael . Grayson, Michael . 2011. Typhlops diardi . 72. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore. Johns Hopkins University Press. 978-1-4214-0135-5.
3. Khan MS.

   fr:Muhammad Sharif Khan

   . 1998. Notes on Typhlops diardi Schlegel, 1839, with description of a new subspecies . Pakistan Journal of Zoology. 30. 3. 213−221.