Anilius

The Aniliidae are a special group of snakes that has only one family and one genus, called Anilius. This family includes just one species, Anilius scytale, which is known by names like the American pipe snake and false coral snake. You can find this snake in South America.

This snake is different from others because it has a small, leftover part near its bottom that looks like tiny legs. These are called cloacal spurs and come from its past as a creature with legs. The snake is safe because it does not have venom, and it eats mainly frogs, toads, and other small reptiles like lizards.

There are two types, or subspecies, of this snake, and scientists study them to learn more about how snakes evolved and changed over time.

Description

This snake lives in the Amazon rainforest of South America, the Guianas, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is about 70 cm (28 in) long and usually hides underground. It mainly eats beetles, small amphibians, worm lizards, other small snakes, fish, and frogs. This snake hunts for food on the ground and sometimes in water at night. It has a body that is the same thickness all the way along and a very short tail. It is brightly colored in red and black, and its eyes are small and hidden under large scales on its head.

Geographic range

The American pipe snake lives in tropical areas of northern South America. You can find it in southern and eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. It also lives in the Amazon Basin in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Scientists first described it in a place called "Indiis".

Subspecies

Taxonomy

The South American pipe snake, also called the false coral snake (Anilius scytale), is the only species in its family. Before, some Asian snakes called Cylindrophis were in this family, but now they are in a different family called Cylindrophiidae. The South American pipe snake is not related to these Asian snakes. Its closest relatives are some snakes from tropical areas called Tropidophiidae.