Anomochilus weberi

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Anomochilus weberi
Black-and-white sketch of Anomochilus weberi
Sketch of A. weberi from 1890

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Anomochilidae
Genus: Anomochilus
Species:
A. weberi
Binomial name
Anomochilus weberi
Synonyms[2]
  • Anomalochilus weberi
    Lidth de Jeude in Weber, 1890

Anomochilus weberi, commonly known as Weber's dwarf pipesnake

herpetologist Theodorus Willem van Lidth de Jeude in 1890, the species is a stout, cylindrical snake with a small head and short, conical tail. It is the smallest species in its genus, with a total length of 230 mm (9.1 in). It is mostly black in color, with pale stripes along its sides and pale blotches bordering the vertebral scales
, as well as a variety of other pale spots and markings on the tail and head. It can be told apart from the other species in its genus by its small size, the presence of a pale stripe along its sides, and the presence of pale blotches along its back.

The species is nocturnal and

habitat loss
caused by logging and urbanisation.

Taxonomy and systematics

In 1890, the Dutch herpetologist Theodorus van Lidth de Jeude described the species Anomalochilus weberi on the basis of a female specimen of the species from Sumatra. He also described the genus Anomalochilus in the same paper, creating it for the species.[5] In 1901, the naturalist Charles Berg renamed the genus to Anomochilus, as the name Anomalochilus was already in use for a genus of beetles.[6] The specific name, weberi, is in honor of German-Dutch zoologist Max Wilhelm Carl Weber van Bosse.[7]

A. weberi is one of three species in the dwarf pipesnake

paraphyletic (not containing all the descendants of a common ancestor) with respect to Anomochilidae, and some authorities merge Anomochilidae into Cylindrophiidae.[8][9]

Description

Like other species in its genus, A. weberi is cylindrical with a small, rounded head and short, conical tail.[3][4] It is the smallest Anomochilus snake, with a total length of 230 mm (9.1 in).[10] The head is continuous with the neck, and, despite the fossorial (adapted to living underground) nature of the species, the snout has no reinforcements to aid in burrowing.[3] The dorsum is smooth, with slightly larger scales than the underside.[4] The species also completely lacks the left lung.[11] It has a completely black underside and a black upperside with pale stripes along its sides and pale blotches bordering the vertebral scales.[4] The prefrontal scales and anal scales are whitish, and the underside of the tail has a whitish band that forms a half-ring around the tail. The undersides have two rows of irregular white spots and the very tip of the tail also has two small pale spots. When preserved in alcohol, the species' color changes to mainly brown.[5]

A. weberi has 19 rows of scales (excluding

postocular scale, and the lack of a mental groove.[10]

The species is the only Anomochilus on Sumatra, but co-occurs with both of its congeners on Borneo.[4] It differs from both A. monticola and A. leonardi by the presence of pale stripes along its sides and a paired parietofrontal scale on the forehead.[10]

Distribution and habitat

A. weberi is currently only known from the

dipterocarp forests at altitudes of 300–1,000 m (980–3,280 ft), and like other species in its genus, is fossorial.[4][1]

Ecology and conservation

A. weberi is nocturnal and fossorial.

live young.[3][4]

The species is currently classified as being

habitat loss caused by logging and urbanisation.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T192155A2048153.en. Retrieved 4 August 2023.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link
    )
  2. ^ Anomochilus weberi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 04 August 2023.
  3. ^
    OCLC 1356003917
    .
  4. ^
    OCLC 455823617
    .
  5. ^
    S2CID 86156252
    .
  6. OCLC 8651583
    .
  7. OCLC 695389703
    .
  8. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0469.2005.00315.x
    .
  9. S2CID 245849898
    .
  10. ^
    S2CID 85684485
    .
  11. ^ Brongersma, L. D. (1951). "Some remarks on the pulmonary artery in snakes with two lungs". Zoologische Verhandelingen. 14 (1): 3 – via Naturalis Biodiversity Center. ...in Anomochilus weberi (Lidth) the left lung has disappeared completely...


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