Common names: false coral snake, pipe snake.

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, 2 subspecies are recognized, including the typical form described here.

Description

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.

Subspecies

Subspecies	Taxon author	Common name	Geographic range
A. s. phelpsorum	Roze, 1958
A. s. scytale	(Linnaeus, 1758)

Taxonomy

Modern classifications restrict the family to the South American Red Pipe Snake or False Coral Snake Anilius scytale, with the previously included Asian genus Cylindrophis raised to a separate family Cylindrophiidae.

See also

• List of snakes, overview of all snake families and genera.

References

Further reading

External links