Blackish blind snake

The blackish blind snake (Anilios nigrescens) is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.[2][3][4]

Blackish blind snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Anilios
Species:
A. nigrescens
Binomial name
Anilios nigrescens
(Gray, 1845)
Synonyms
  • Typhlops nigrescens
  • Typhlops rueppelli
  • Typhlops temminckii
  • Typhlops reginae
  • Typhlops polygrammicus nigrescens
  • Ramphotyphlops nigrescens
  • Typhlina polygrammica
  • Typhlina polygrammica nigrescens
  • Austrotyphlops nigrescens

Activity

The species lives most of its life underground feeding on ants, termites and their larvae. To find their food they flick their tongue to pick up the scent of an ant or termite trail and follow it back to the nest,[5] where they rake the ants into their mouth using their upper jaw and swallow the food whole.

Appearance

They can grow to a size of 23 inches, with the largest recorded at 32 inches. Colour is brown/purplish on top, with a light shade of pink on the belly. The tail features a pointed tip which is a harmless spur.

References
  1. Shea, G., McDonald, P. & Fenner, A. 2018. Anilios nigrescens. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T102873712A102873715. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T102873712A102873715.en. Downloaded on 07 August 2018.
  2. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. "Ramphotyphlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  4. Anilios nigrescens at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 29 July 2018.
  5. Webb, Jonathan; Shine, Richard (1992). "To find an ant: trail-following in Australian blindsnakes(Typhlopidae)". Animal Behaviour. 43 (6): 941–948. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(06)80007-2.
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