Beddome's worm snake

Beddome's worm snake (Gerrhopilus beddomii) is a species of harmless blind snake in the family Gerrhopilidae. The species is native to southern India. No subspecies are currently recognized.^[4]

Beddome's worm snake
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Gerrhopilidae
Genus:	Gerrhopilus
Species:	G. beddomii
Binomial name
Gerrhopilus beddomii (Boulenger, 1890)
Synonyms[2]
Typhlops beddomii Boulenger, 1890 Typhlops beddomii — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops beddomei — Wall, 1923 Typhlops beddomei — M.A. Smith, 1943[3] Typhlops beddomii — McDiarmid, Campbell & Touré, 1999 Gerrhopilus beddomii — Vidal et al., 2010

Etymology

G. beddomii is named after Richard Henry Beddome (1830-1911), a British army officer and botanist.^[5]

Geographic range

Beddome's worm snake is found in southern India in the Western Ghats and in the Kimedy Hills near Visakhapatnam in eastern India.

The type locality given is "Hills of the Indian Peninsula ... Kimedy Hills, (Visakhapatnam district) and in the Anaimalai and Travancore Hills between 2000 and 5000 feet"^[3] (about 600–1500 m).

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of G. beddomii is forest, at altitudes of 600–950 m (1,970–3,120 ft).^[1]

Description

G. beddomii may attain a total length (including tail) of 14 cm (5.5 in). Dorsally, it is brown, often with a darker vertebral line. Ventrally, it is paler brown. The rounded snout and the anal region are whitish.^[6]

Reproduction

G. beddomii is oviparous.^[2]