Gerrhopilidae Vidal et al., 2010

Szyndlar, Zbigniew & Georgalis, Georgios L., 2023, An illustrated atlas of the vertebral morphology of extant non-caenophidian snakes, with special emphasis on the cloacal and caudal portions of the column, Vertebrate Zoology 73, pp. 717-886 : 717

Gerrhopilidae Vidal et al., 2010

General information.

Gerrhopilidae consists a small group of typhlopoids, with a little more than 20 known species, pertaining to two genera, i.e., Gerrhopilus Fitzinger, 1843, and Cathetorhinus Duméril & Bibron, 1844, distributed in southern Asia and certain islands of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans ( Vidal et al. 2010; Pyron and Wallach 2014; Kraus 2023). Divergence date estimates suggest that gerrhopilids split from other scolecophidians already during the Late Cretaceous ( Zheng and Wiens 2016; Miralles et al. 2018; Sidharthan and Karanth 2021).

The sole so far published figure of gerrhopilid vertebrae has been presented by Kraus (2017: fig. 5) for Gerrhopilus persephone Kraus, 2017, and shows only the atlas, axis, and the next two articulated vertebrae in dorsal, ventral, and lateral views. Unfortunately, these vertebrae originate from the anteriormost trunk region of the column and so are not very informative.

Material examined.

Gerrhopilus mirus (Jan, 1860 in Jan & Sordelli 1860-1866) (FMNH 178534 [Morphosource.org: Media 000413003, ark:/87602/m4/413003 and Media 000413000, ark:/87602/m4/413000]).

Description (Fig. 14).

Trunk vertebrae. The morphology of the trunk vertebrae is very similar to other scolecophidians. See the respective part in Leptotyphlopidae above.

Trunk / caudal transition. The morphology of these vertebrae is very similar to other scolecophidians. See the respective part in Leptotyphlopidae above.

Number of vertebrae. Gerrhopilus mirus (FMNH 178534): 202 (195+3+4).

Data from literature: Gerrhopilus persephone : 286 vertebrae in total ( Kraus 2017).