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Saturday, June 20, 2009

pipe snake

Sri Lankan Pipe Snake (Depath naya)
pipe snake by Chaminda Jayaratne

The Aniliidae are a monotypic family created for the monotypic genus Anilius that contains the species A. scytale, found in South America. This snake possesses a vestigial pelvic girdle that is visible as a pair of cloacal spurs. It is ovoviviparous. The diet consists mainly of amphibians and other reptiles. Currently, two subspecies are recognized, including the typical form described here.

This species is found in Amazonian South America, the Guianas and Trinidad and Tobago. It is a moderately sized snake attaining a size of about 70 cm (27 inches) in length. It is reported to be ovoviviparous and feed on beetles, caecilians (burrowing amphibians), amphisbaenids (legless lizards), small fossorial snakes, fish, and frogs. It has a cylindrical body of uniform diameter and very short tail; brightly banded in red and black ( but without yellow bands); reduced eyes lying beneath large head scales.

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