Suborder Serpentes Superfamily Booidea Scientific name Anomochilus Rank Family | Class Reptilia Infraorder Alethinophidia Genus AnomochilusBerg, 1901 Phylum Chordata Order Scaled reptiles | |
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Similar Bolyeriidae, Uropeltidae, Cylindrophiidae, Anomalepididae, Loxocemidae | ||
The Anomochilidae, or anomochilids, are a monotypic family of snakes, created for the genus Anomochilus, which currently contains three species.
Contents
- Description
- Behaviour and habitat
- Diet
- Reproduction
- Taxonomy
- Geographic range
- Species
- Taxonomic history
- References
Description
Anomochilids are small snakes, with museum specimens measuring up to 52 cm (20 in) in total length (including tail). 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. Females have two well developed oviducts. Anomochilids have white or yellow patterns against a darker reddish background.
Behaviour and habitat
Anomochilids are probably fossorial.
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.
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.
Species
T) Type species.
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.
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.