Top End blind snake explained

The Top End blind snake (Anilios guentheri) is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.^[1] The species is endemic to Australia.

Etymology

The specific name, guentheri, is in honor of German-born British herpetologist Albert Günther.^[2]

Geographic range

In Australia, A. guentheri is found in the state of Western Australia and in Northern Territory.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of A. guentheri is grassland.

Description

A. guentheri is small and very slender. Its snout is rounded, not beaked. It has 18 rows of scales at midbody. Its head and body are pale reddish brown, and its tail is blackish.

Reproduction

A. guentheri is oviparous.

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 guentheri, new combination, p. 20).
• Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. . (Ramphotyphlops guentheri, p. 802).
• 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. (Anilios guentheri, new combination).
• Peters W (1865). "Einen ferneren Nachtrag zu seiner Abhandlung über Typhlopina". Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1865: 259-263 + one unnumbered plate. ["''Typhlops (Onycocephalus) Güntheri'' ", new species, pp. 259–161 + figures 1, 1a, 1b, 1c]. (in German).
• Robb J (1966). "The Generic Status of Australasian Typhlopids (Reptilia: Squamata)". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Thirteenth Series 9: 675–679. (Rhamphotyphlops guentheri, new combination, p. 676).
• Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. .

Notes and References

1. [species:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]
2. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]