Anomalepididae

The Anomalepididae are a family of nonvenomous snakes that live in Central and South America. These small snakes are often called primitive blind snakes or dawn blind snakes. They look similar to another group of snakes called Typhlopidae, but some have a special single tooth in their lower jaw.

Scientists recognize four different genera and 15 different species of these snakes. Even though they are called "blind" snakes, they are not actually blind—they just have very small eyes and usually live underground or in burrows. These snakes help control the populations of small insects and other tiny creatures.

Description

Anomalepididae are small snakes. They are usually less than 30 cm (12 in) long, including their tails. These snakes have blunt heads and short, blunt tails. They mostly live underground. Because of this, their eyes are not well developed.

Geographic range

The Anomalepididae family of snakes lives in Southern Central America and north-western South America. There are also some groups of these snakes in north-eastern and south-eastern parts of South America.

Genera

The Anomalepididae family has four groups, called genera. These are small snakes that are not dangerous. They live in Central and South America. Some of these snakes have one special tooth in their lower jaw, which makes them different from other snakes that look similar.