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Underground Down Under: Skull anatomy of the southern blind snake Anilios australis Gray, 1845 (Typhlopidae: Serpentes: Squamata)
Author(s) -
Laver Rebecca J.,
Daza Juan D.,
Ellis Ryan J.,
Stanley Edward L.,
Bauer Aaron M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the anatomical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.24696
Subject(s) - skull , anatomy , biology , squamata , comparative anatomy , endocast , limiting , convergent evolution , dorsum , zoology , phylogenetics , mechanical engineering , engineering , biochemistry , gene
The cranial anatomy of blindsnakes has been markedly understudied, with the small size and relative rarity of encountering these subterranean reptiles being significant limiting factors. In this article, we re‐visit the skull anatomy of the Australian southern blind snake Anilios australis Gray, 1845 using microCT data, and produce the first complete atlas for the cranial anatomy of a representative of this speciose typhlopid genus. The skull is formed by 18 paired and four unpaired elements. We here produce a bone‐by‐bone description of each element as well as an inner ear endocast for each of two specimens differing in skull size. This approach has revealed the presence of a highly perforated dorsal plate on the septomaxilla―a structure convergent with the cribriform plate of the mammalian ethmoid bone―and a feature previously unknown for typhlopid snakes. This detailed anatomical study will facilitate ongoing taxonomic and systematic studies in the genus Anilios as well as provide comparative data for future studies on blindsnake anatomy more broadly.