''Afrotyphlops schlegelii'', commonly known as Schlegel's beaked blind snake Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Rhinotyphlops schlegelii'', p. 54 + Plate 39). or Schlegel's giant blind snake, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Typhlopidae The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel-like burrowing str ...

. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (series). (volume). The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to eastern and southern Africa, and bears the distinction of being the world's largest typhlopid. It is harmless to humans and lives exclusively on a diet of termites.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''schlegelii'', is in honor of German herpetologist

Hermann Schlegel Hermann Schlegel (10 June 1804 – 17 January 1884) was a German ornithologist, herpetologist and ichthyologist. Early life and education Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated ...

Geographic range

''A. schlegelii'' is found in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, southern Mozambique, northern Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, southern Sudan, Tanzania, northern Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Description

Three distinct

color phase In biology, polymorphism is the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative ''phenotypes'', in the population of a species. To be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the s ...

s of ''A. schlegelii'' are found: uniform, blotched, or striped. *Uniform phase specimens are black to brown dorsally, straw-colored ventrally. *Blotched phase individuals have black to dark brown irregular blotches dorsally, and are yellow-green to yellow ventrally and on the sides. *The striped phase results from each scale being edged with black. These black lines merge with age. The maximum recorded snout-vent length (SVL) is . The scales are arranged in 30-44 rows around the body. There are more than 300 scales in the vertebral row (maximum 623). The snout is very prominent, with a sharp horizontal cutting edge, below which are located the nostrils. The

rostral Rostral may refer to: Anatomy * Rostral (anatomical term), situated toward the oral or nasal region * Rostral bone, in ceratopsian dinosaurs * Rostral organ, of certain fish * Rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other sca ...

is very large, extending as far back as the eyes. The portion of the rostral visible from below is broader than long. There are four

upper labials In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...

. The

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery * ...

is semidivided, the suture proceeding from the first upper labial. A

preocular In scaled reptiles, the ocular scales are those forming the margin of the eye.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . The name originates from the term which is Latin f ...

is present, narrower than the nasal or the ocular, in contact with the second and third upper labials. The eyes distinct, located below the suture between the preocular and the ocular. The diameter of the body goes 25 to 30 times in the total length. The tail is broader than long, ending in a spine. 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 schlegelii'', pp. 44–45).

Habitat

''Afrotyphlops schlegelii'' is found in a variety of habitats, from sandveld to coastal bush.

Behavior

''A. schlegelii'' is

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

, and very large individuals are found deep underground.

Reproduction

''A. schlegelii'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

. A female usually lays 12-40 eggs, but very large individuals may lay as many as 60. The eggs, which are laid in late spring or summer, measure 20–22 mm long by 10-12mm wide (3/4-7/8 inch x 3/8-7/16 inch). The eggs hatch in 5–6 weeks.

Infraspecific taxa

There are two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: * ''Afrotyphlops schlegelii schlegelii'' * ''Afrotyphlops schlegelii petersii'' ''Note'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Afrotyphlops''.