''Grypotyphlops acutus'', also known as the beaked worm snake, beaked blind snake, or beak-nosed worm snake, is a harmless

blind snake The Scolecophidia, commonly known as blind snakes or thread snakes, are an infraorder of snakes. They range in length from . All are fossorial (adapted for burrowing). Five families and 39 genera are recognized. The Scolecophidia infraorder is m ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to peninsular

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is the only species in the genus ''Grypotyphlops''. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Taxonomy

''Grypotyphlops'' is thought to group with the

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

typhlopids in the genera '' Afrotyphlops'', ''

Letheobia ''Letheobia'' is a genus of blind snakes in the family Typhlopidae. Wallach, Van (2005) "''Letheobia pauwelsi'', a new species of blindsnake from Gabon (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)." ''African Journal of Herpetology'' 54 (1): 85-91. Geographic ran ...

'', and ''

Rhinotyphlops ''Rhinotyphlops'' is a genus of blind snakes in the family Typhlopidae. The genus is found in Africa, the Middle East, and India. Some species formerly assigned to the genus ''Rhinotyphlops'' have been moved to the genera ''Afrotyphlops'' and ' ...

'', being the sister group to the latter two and having dispersed from Africa to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

during the Paleogene. This contrasts with the other blind snakes in the Indian subcontinent, which are thought to have either mainland Asian ancestry (''

Indotyphlops ''Indotyphlops'' is a genus of snakes of the family Typhlopidae. The genus is endemic to Asia. Species The genus ''Indotyphlops'' contains the following 23 species which are recognized as being valid. *''Indotyphlops ahsanai'' *''Indotyphlops ...

'' and ''

Argyrophis ''Argyrophis'' is a genus of snakes in the family Typhlopidae. Distribution The 12 species of the genus ''Argyrophis'' are found throughout Asia. Species The following species are recognized as being valid. *'' Argyrophis bothriorhynchus'' *'' ...

'') or be descended from ancient

Gondwanan Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stage ...

endemics of

Insular India The term Insular India refers to the isolated landmass which became the Indian subcontinent. Across the latter stages of the Cretaceous and most of the Paleocene, following the breakup of Gondwana, the Indian subcontinent remained an isolated land ...

(''

Gerrhopilus ''Gerrhopilus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Gerrhopilidae. Geographic range The 23 species of the genus ''Gerrhopilus'' are found in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Melanesia. Species *'' Gerrhopilus addisoni'' *'' Gerrhopilus andamanen ...

'').

Geographic range

This species is found throughout peninsular India south of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and Rajputana basins. The type locality given is "''inconnue''" ( French for unknown).

Taxonomy

Geographic range

References

Further reading