You are here » home › advanced search › search results › Grypotyphlops acutus

Grypotyphlops acutus (DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1844)

IUCN Red List - Grypotyphlops acutus - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Grypotyphlops acutus?

Add your own observation of
Grypotyphlops acutus »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaTyphlopidae (Afrotyphlopinae), Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Beaked Worm Snake, Beaked Blind Snake 
SynonymOnychocephalus acutus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1844: 333
Onychocephalus unilineatus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1844: 278
Typhlops (Onychocephalus) unilineatus — JAN 1863: 13
Typhlops russellii GRAY 1845: 132
Onychocephalus westermanni LÜTKEN 1863
Typhlops excipiens JAN 1864
Onychocephalus malabaricus BEDDOME in GÜNTHER 1875 (nom. nud.)
Grypotyphlops acutus — PETERS 1881: 70
Typhlops acutus — BOULENGER 1890: 242
Typhlops unilineatus — BOULENGER 1893: 15
Typhlops acutus — BOULENGER 1893: 56
Typhlops psittacus WERNER 1903: 248
Typhlops acutus — SMITH 1943
Typhlops acuta — CONSTABLE 1949: 113
Typhlops acutus — WALLACH 1994
Rhinotyphlops acutus — WALLACH 1994
Rhinotyphlops acutus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 77
Typhlops unilineatus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 123
Grypotyphlops unilineatus — WALLACH 2003
Grypotyphlops acutus — WALLACH 2003
Rhinotyphlops acutus — VYAS 2007
Letheobia acutus — BROADLEY & WALLACH 2007
Grypotyphlops acutus — HEDGES et al. 2014
Grypotyphlops acutus — PYRON & WALLACH 2014
Grypotyphlops acutus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 317 
DistributionIndia (widespread but endemic to peninsular India; see map in WALLACH 1994; Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra)

Type locality: unknown (fide DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1844, but shown on a map in WALLACH 1994). Neotype locality: one of the Kanheri Caves at base of Hankeri Hills, Kanheri National Park, 5 miles E Borivli, ca. 20 miles NNE Bombay, India.

unilineatus (invalid): see comment; Type locality: “Cayenne”. In error fide DIXON & HENDRICKS 1979.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesNeotype: UF 19902, collected W. Auffenberg, 23.vi.1964. Designated by Wallach (1994). Holotype: MNHN (=MNHP) lost fide Hahn (1980). Also (erroneously) reported as Holotype: ZMUC 52183.
Holotype: MNHN 1064 [unilineatus] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus). Species of Grypotyphlops have (1) eye, distinct or indistinct, (2) snout, beaked, (3) head scale arrangement, non-circular, (4) frontorostral, absent, (5) nasal, completely or incompletely divided, (6) nasal suture origin, 2nd supralabial, (7) suboculars or subpreoculars, present, (8) postoculars, 4 (rarely 3 or 5; average, 4.0), (9) preocular-labial contact, supralabials 2 & 3, (10) midbody scale rows, 24–30, (11) scale row reduction, present, (12) total scale rows, 448–526 (average, 487), (13) caudals, 7–13 (average, 10.0), (14) maximum total length, 630 mm, (15) total length/midbody diameter, 30–66 (average, 48.0), (16) total length/tail length, 17–133 (average, 75.1), (17) dorsal color, gray, brown, or golden brown, (18) ventral color, grayish-white, yellow, or pale brown, (19) dorsum darker than venter, (20) overall, coloration is uniform, although pale scale centers may appear as weakly-defined lines (Tables 1–2); no molecular phylogenetic information is available.
From other genera of Asiatyphlopinae except Acutotyphlops and Cyclotyphlops, Grypotyphlops differs in having subocular scales (versus absent). Grypotyphlops differs from Acutotyphlops in lacking a frontorostral and from Cyclotyphlops in having non-circular head scales (versus circular arrangement). Although one species of Xe- rotyphlops has a subocular scale, Grypotyphlops differs from that genus in having more postoculars (3–5 versus 2), more midbody scale rows (29 versus 23.5, averages), and more total scale rows (448–526 versus 206–435). At 630 mm TL, Grypotyphlops also stands out in its large size [HEDGES et al. 2014]. For an alternative diagnosis see PYRON & WALLACH 2014: 52.


Additional details (51 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: The original type locality “Cayenne” is in French Guiana and thus in error. T. unilineatus is not listed by GASC & RODRIGUES 1980. Not listed for French Guiana by STARACE 1998.

Phylogenetics: Hedges et al. 2014 placed Grypotyphlops in the Asiatyphlopinae but more recent studies, e.g. Sidharthan & Karanth 2021 place it in Afrotyphlopinae.

Synonymy: fide WALLACH 2003 and HEDGES et al. 2014: 37.

Type species: Onychocephalus acutus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1844: 333 is the type species of the genus Grypotyphlops PETERS 1881.

Morphology: for morphological data in this genus see Pyron & Wallach 2014: Table 2. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “acuere” = sharp, or “acutus” = sharpened, pointed, or “acumen” = tip, or “acus” = needle.

The genus name is a masculine noun formed from the Greek adjective grypos (hook-nosed) and Greek noun typhlops (the blind), in reference to the beaked snouts of these blindsnakes. 
References
  • Barhadiya, G., & Ghosh, C. 2024. First record of the Beaked Worm Snake, Grypotyphlops acutus (Duméril and Bibron 1844), from the Union territory of Delhi, India. Reptiles & Amphibians, 31(1), e21216-e21216 - get paper here
  • Bhupathy, Subramanian & N. Sathishkumar 2013. Status of reptiles in Meghamalai and its environs, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5 (15): 4953-4961 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. - get paper here
  • Broadley, Donald G. & Wallach, V. 2007. A review of East and Central African species of Letheobia Cope, revived from the synonymy of Rhinotyphlops Fitzinger, with descriptions of five new species (Serpentes: Typhlopidae). Zootaxa 1515: 31–68 - get paper here
  • Constable, JOHN D. 1949. Reptiles from the Indian Peninsula in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 103: 59-160. - get paper here
  • Deshmukh, Rahul V.; Sagar A. Deshmukh, Swapnil A. Badhekar, and Roshan Y. Naitame 2020. Snakes of Bhandara District, Maharashtra, Central India with notes on natural history. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 27 (1): 10–17 - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M. C. and G. Bibron. 1844. Erpetologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complete des Reptiles. Vol.6. Libr. Encyclopédique Roret, Paris, 609 pp. - get paper here
  • Dutta, S.K., M.V. Nair, P.P. Mohapatra and A.K. Mahapatra. 2009. Amphibians and reptiles of Similipal Biosphere Reserve. Regional Plant Resouce Centre, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India - get paper here
  • Ganesh S.R., Bubesh Guptha 2021. Herpetological diversity in the Central Eastern Ghats, Peninsular India. Journal of Animal Diversity 3 (3): 18-44 - get paper here
  • Ghadigaonkar, Pritesh; Akshay Pandirkar, Pradnya Bandekar, Aakash Kuwar, Rovhin Todankar, Harshal Karve and Prajal Jangam 2019. BIODIVERSITY IN AND AROUND PIMPALGAON JOGADAM, JUNNAR, PUNE DISTRICT: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO AVIFAUNA, HERPATOFAUNA AND MAMMALIAN DIVERSITY. Seminar on “Wetlands-Present Status, Ecology & Conservation, - get paper here
  • Gray, J. E. 1845. Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of die British Museum/Edward Newman, London: xxvii + 289 pp. - get paper here
  • Hedges, S.B., Marion, A.B., Lipp, K.M., Marin, J. & Vidal, N. 2014. A taxonomic framework for typhlopid snakes from the Caribbean and other regions (Reptilia, Squamata). Caribbean Herpetology 49: 1–61 - get paper here
  • Ingle, Mukesh; Ulka Yadav, Ashok K. Bhilala, Manohar Pawar 2019. Urban Herpetofauna: A Case Study in Ujjain City of Central India. International Journal of Scientific Research in Biological Sciences 6 (5): 76-84 - get paper here
  • Jan, G. 1863. Elenco Sistematico degli Ofidi descriti e disegnati per l'Iconografia Generale. Milano, A. Lombardi. vii + 143 pp. - get paper here
  • Jan, G. 1864. Iconographie générale des ophidiens. 4. Livraison. J.B. Bailière et Fils, Paris - get paper here
  • Jan, G. 1865. Iconographie générale des ophidiens. 9. Livraison. J.B. Bailière et Fils, Paris [1864] - get paper here
  • Jangid, Ashish Kumar; Ravi Kumar Sharma and Abhijit Das 2021. Annotated checklist with distribution summary of Snakes of Jawai Community Conservation Reserve, Rajasthan, India. Journal of Animal Diversity 3 (4): 1-13 - get paper here
  • Jigar, Solanki; Khare Rounak and Andhale Atmaram Vitthal 2022. CHECKLIST OF SNAKES FOUND IN MAVAL TALUKA, PUNE, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA. CIBTech Journal of Zoology 11: 182-192 - get paper here
  • Kalki, Yatin; Chayant Gonsalves , Daniel B. Wylie , Karthik A. K. Sundaram and Tristan D. Schramer 2021. Annotated checklist of the snakes of Bengaluru Urban District, Karnataka, India with notes on their natural history, distribution, and population trends over the last 150 years. Journal of Animal Diversity 3 (2): 26-41 - get paper here
  • Karthik, Pandi and Debaprasad Sengupta 2018. A Beaked Wormsnake, Grypotyphlops acutus (Duméril and Bibron 1844), in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve of southern India. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 25 (2): 132–133 - get paper here
  • Khanduri, S., Thirumurugan, V., CS, V., Chinnasamy, R., Das, A., & Talukdar, G. 2022. A note on opportunistic records of reptiles from the Moyar River Valley Landscape, Tamil Nadu, southern India. Journal of Animal Diversity 4 (4) - get paper here
  • Lütken, C. 1863. Nogle nye krybdyr og padder. Videnskabelige Meddelelser f ra den Naturhistoriske Forening i Kjöbenhavn (20—22): 292—311
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Mirza, A. N., & Patil, S. S. 2023. Seasonal Reptilian Diversity at Gautala Reserve Forest, Aurangabad (Maharashtra), India. Curr World Environ 2023;18(2) - get paper here
  • Murthy, T.S.N. 2010. The reptile fauna of India. B.R. Publishing, New Delhi, 332 pp.
  • Narayana, B. Laxmi; P. Venkateshwarlu, K. Swamy, G. Surender, R. Sravan Kumar & V. Vasudeva Rao 2018. Beaked Worm Snake: Record of Grypotyphlops acutus at Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad, Telangana. ZOO'S PRINT 33 (3): 12-14 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Palot, M.J. 2015. A checklist of reptiles of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(13): 8010–8022 - get paper here
  • Patel, Harshil; and Raju Vyas 2019. Reptiles of Gujarat, India: Updated Checklist, Distribution, and Conservation Status. Herpetology Notes 12: 765-777 - get paper here
  • Patel, Harshil; Raju Vyas, Bhautik Dudhatra, Vaibhav Naik, Ashish Chavda, Devendra Chauhan, Amit Vaghashiya, Ramesh Vagadiya and Pranav Vaghashiya 2019. Preliminary report on Herpetofauna of Mount Girnar, Gujarat, India. Journal of Animal Diversity 1 (2): 9–35 - get paper here
  • Patel, Harshil; Raju Vyas, Vaibhav Naik, Bhautik Dudhatra & Shantilal K. Tank 2018. Herpetofauna of the Northern Western Ghats of Gujarat, India. Zoology and Ecology, DOI: 10.1080/21658005.2018.1499237 - get paper here
  • Peters, WILHELM C. H. 1881. Einige herpetologische Mittheilungen. 1. Uebersicht der zu den Familien der Typhlopes und Stenostomi gehörigen Gattungen oder Untergattungen. 2. Ueber eine neue Art von Tachydromus aus dem Amurlande. 3. Ueber die von Herrn Dr. finsch aus Polynesien g Sitzungs-Ber. Gesellsch.Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1881 (4): 69-72.
  • Pyron, R.A. & Wallach, V. 2014. Systematics of the blindsnakes (Serpentes: Scolecophidia: Typhlopoidea) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Zootaxa 3829 (1): 001–081 - get paper here
  • RAMASWAMY, RAJIV; TINU MANI, BASIL GEORGE, JUSTIN VARGHESE & PRETHYUSH EM. 2021. First Report of Albino Beaked Worm-Snake Grypotyphlops acutus (Dumeril and Bibron, 1844) from Haryana, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS) 118. - get paper here
  • Salunkhe, Rajendra Vishnu 2023. Snakes of Indapur: Diversity and Awareness. Bhumi Publishing, ISBN: 978-93-88901-31-4 - get paper here
  • Sharma, R. C. 1976. Records of the reptiles of Goa. Records Zool. Survey India 71 (1975): 149-167. - get paper here
  • Sharma, R. C. 2004. Handbook Indian Snakes. AKHIL BOOKS, New Delhi, 292 pp.
  • Sidharthan, Chinta, and K Praveen Karanth 2021. India’s Biogeographic History through the Eyes of Blindsnakes- Filling the Gaps in the Global Typhlopoid Phylogeny. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 157: 107064 - get paper here
  • Smith, Hobart 1942. Mexican herpetological miscellany. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 92 (3153): 349-395 - get paper here
  • Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London. 583 pp.
  • Thakur, Sanjay 2011. A note on snakes of Kanha National Park and surrounding areas. Reptile Rap (11): 2-4 - get paper here
  • Visvanathan, A., Anne, S., Kolli, A. K., & Vangari, S. M. 2022. Snakes of Telangana: An annotated checklist with new locality records and notes on natural history. Reptiles & Amphibians, 29(1), 279-285 - get paper here
  • Vyas, Raju 2007. Herptofauna of Puma Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, India. Reptile Rap (8): 10-15 - get paper here
  • Wall, F. 1918. A Popular Treatise on the Common Indian Snakes. Part XXIV. Typhlops. (With Plate XXIV and Diagram.). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 25: 375-382 - get paper here
  • Wallach V. 1994. The status of the Indian endemic Typhlops acutus (Dumeril and Bibron) and the identity of Typhlops psittacus Werner (Reptilia, Serpentes, Typhlopidae). BULLETIN DE L'INSTITUT ROYAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DE BELGIQUE BIOLOGIE. 1994. vol. 64, pp. 209-229.
  • Wallach, V. 2003. Scolecophidia miscellanea. Hamadryad 27 (2): 222-240 - get paper here
  • Werner, F. 1903. Neue Reptilien und Batrachier aus dem naturhistorischen Museum in Brüssel. Zool. Anz. 26: 246-253 - get paper here
  • Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004. Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp., reprinted 2007 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Grypotyphlops&species=acutus

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator