NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Bootlace Snake
Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Indotyphlops braminus, commonly known as the brahminy blind snake (), is a non-venomous blind snake species, found mostly in Africa and Asia, and has been introduced in many other parts of the world. It is a completely fossorial (i.e., burrowing) reptile, with habits and appearance similar to an earthworm, for which it is often mistaken and shares convergent evolution with, although close examination reveals tiny scales and eyes rather than the annular segments characteristic of a true earthworm. The species is parthenogenetic and all known specimens have been female. The specific name is a Latinized form of the word Brahmin. No subspecies are currently recognized as being valid.
Wikipedia contributors, Indotyphlops braminus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:33.920779+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803)
- Name authority
- (Daudin, 1803)
- Common name
- Bootlace Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Typhlopidae
- Genus
- Indotyphlops
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderScolecophidia Cope, 1864
- familyTyphlopidae
- genusIndotyphlops
- speciesIndotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Indotyphlops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Indotyphlops ahsanai (Khan, 1999) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| White-headed Blind SnakeIndotyphlops albiceps (Boulenger, 1898) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Jerdon's Worm SnakeIndotyphlops jerdoni (Boulenger, 1890) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indotyphlops lazelli (Wallach & Pauwels, 2004) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Malcolm's Worm SnakeIndotyphlops malcolmi (Taylor, 1947) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Schmutz's Worm SnakeIndotyphlops schmutzi (Auffenberg, 1980) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Samagutin Worm SnakeIndotyphlops tenuicollis (Peters, 1864) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Vedda Worm SnakeIndotyphlops veddae (Taylor, 1947) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indotyphlops combank Wickramasinghe, Vidanapathirana, de Silva, Tennakoon, Samarakoon & Wickramasinghe, 2023 | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indotyphlops laca O'Shea, Wallach, Hsiao & Kaiser, 2023 | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fletcher's Worm SnakeIndotyphlops fletcheri (Wall, 1919) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sri Lanka Worm SnakeIndotyphlops lankaensis (Taylor, 1947) | TyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Glauconia braueri Sternfeld, 1910 Sternfeld, 1910 | synonym |
| Onychocephalus capensis Smith, 1846 Smith, 1846 | synonym |
| Tortrix russelii Merrem, 1820 Merrem, 1820 | synonym |
| Typhlops (Typhlops) inconspicuus Jan, 1863 Jan, 1863 | synonym |
| Typhlops accedens Jan & Sordelli, 1864 Jan & Sordelli, 1864 | synonym |
| Typhlops limbrickii Annandale, 1906 Annandale, 1906 | synonym |
| Typhlops russeli Schlegel, 1839 Schlegel, 1839 | synonym |
| Typhlops khoratensis Taylor, 1962 Taylor, 1962 | synonym |
| Typhlops avoterminatus Günther, 1870 Günther, 1870 | synonym |
| Eryx braminus Daudin, 1803 Daudin, 1803 | synonym |
| Typhlops (Typhlops) euproctus Boettger, 1882 Boettger, 1882 | synonym |
| Typhlops pseudosaurus Dryden & Taylor, 1969 Dryden & Taylor, 1969 | synonym |
| Ophthalmidium tenue Hallowell, 1861 Hallowell, 1861 | synonym |
| Typhlops braminus arenicola Annandale, 1906 Annandale, 1906 | synonym |
| Argyrophis truncatus Gray, 1845 Gray, 1845 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Indotyphlops&species=braminus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3PNW8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.