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Afrotyphlops schlegelii (BIANCONI, 1849)

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Higher TaxaTyphlopidae (Afrotyphlopinae), Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesAfrotyphlops schlegelii schlegelii (BIANCONI 1849)
Afrotyphlops schlegelii petersii (BOCAGE 1873) 
Common Namesschlegelii: Schlegel's Beaked Blind Snake, Schlegel's Giant Blind Snake
petersii: Peter's Giant Blind Snake, Schlegel's Beaked Blind Snake, Peter’s phase 
SynonymTyphylops [sic] schlegelii BIANCONI 1849: 106
Typhlops schlegelii BIANCONI 1850: 183
Typhlops Schlegelii — JAN 1864
Typhlops schlegelii — BOULENGER 1893: 44
Rhinotyphlops schlegelii — LARGEN & RASMUSSEN 1993
Rhinotyphlops schlegelii — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 84
Megatyphlops schlegelii — BROADLEY & WALLACH 2009
Megatyphlops schlegelii — BROADLEY & BLAYLOCK 2013
Afrotyphlops schlegelii — HEDGES et al. 2014
Megatyphlops schlegelii — WALLACH et al. 2014: 431
Megatyphlops schlegelii — BATES et al. 2014: 313
Megatyphlops schlegelii — KOBER 2015
Afrotyphlops schlegelii — SCHLEICHER 2020
Afrotyphlops schlegelii — PIETERSEN et al. 2021

Afrotyphlops schlegelii schlegelii (BIANCONI 1849)
Typhlops Schlegelii BIANCONI 1849: 106
Onychocephalus schlegelii — PETERS 1860
Typhlops schlegelii schlegelii — LOVERIDGE 1933: 214
Typhlops schlegelii schlegelii — BOYCOTT 1992
Typhlops schlegelii schlegelii — BAUER et al. 1993
Rhinotyphlops schlegelii schlegelii — ROUX-ESTÈVE 1974: 164
Rhinotyphlops schlegelii schlegelii — AUERBACH 1987: 145

Afrotyphlops schlegelii petersii (BOCAGE 1873)
Onychocephalus petersii BOCAGE 1873: 248
Typhlops (Onychocephalus) humbo BOCAGE 1886: 171
Typhlops humbo — BOULENGER 1893: 46
Typhlops hottentotus BOCAGE 1893: 117
Typhlops humbo — WERNER 1910: 353
Rhinotyphlops schlegelii petersii — ROUX-ESTÈVE 1974
Rhinotyphlops schlegelii petersii — AUERBACH 1987: 147
Afrotyphlops schlegelii petersii — SCHLEICHER 2015
Afrotyphlops schlegelii petersii — ULLENBRUCH 2020
Afrotyphlops schlegeli petersii — MARQUES et al. 2024 
DistributionS Mozambique, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, SW Angola, SW Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) [CHIFUNDERA 1990], N Namibia, Botswana, S Zimbabwe

Type locality: “Mozambico” [= Mozambique]  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MZUB (listed as IBI in Wallach et al. 2014), collected by C. Fornasini.
Syntype: lost, was MB 1868 (destroyed), according to Hahn (1980:35) [petersii] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1656 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSubspecific classification according to HAHN 1980.

Rhinotyphlops schlegelii mucruso (PETERS 1854) as well as R. s. brevis are now considered as a full species by most authors.

Distribution: not in N Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya (replaced by T. mucruso there); not in Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia fide Wallach et al. 2014. 
EtymologyNamed after Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884), German herpetologist. 
References
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