NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Anomochilus monticola Das, Lakim, Lim & Hui, 2008
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.
Mountain Pipe Snake (Anomochilus monticola). Species of reptile.
Kenneth Chin · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Anomochilus monticola, the Kinabalu giant blind snake, mountain pipe snake, or Mount Kinabalu dwarf pipesnake, is a species of snake in the dwarf pipesnake family Anomochilidae. It is endemic to Kinabalu Park in northern Borneo, where it inhabits montane and submontane rainforest at altitudes of 1,450–1,513 m (4,760–4,960 ft). Described by the herpetologist Indraneil Das and colleagues in 2008, the species is a stout, cylindrical snake with a small head and short, conical tail. It is the largest species in its genus, with a total length of 521 mm (20.5 in). It is mostly iridescent blue-black in color, with a deep brown belly, large pale horn-colored blotches along the underside, a chrome orange band around the tail, a pale creamy-yellow bar across the snout, and pale horn-colored speckles along its sides. It can be told apart from the other species in its genus by its large size, the absence of a stripe along its sides, and the lack of pale blotches on its back. The species is nocturnal and fossorial (adapted to living underground).
Wikipedia contributors, Anomochilus monticola; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:19:21.035931+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anomochilus monticola Das, Lakim, Lim & Hui, 2008
- Name authority
- Das, Lakim, Lim & Hui, 2008
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Anomochilidae
- Genus
- Anomochilus
- 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
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyAnomochilidae
- genusAnomochilus
- speciesAnomochilus monticola Das, Lakim, Lim & Hui, 2008
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anomochilus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Webers Cylinder SnakeAnomochilus weberi (Lidth de Jeude, 1890) | AnomochilidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leonard's Burrowing SnakeAnomochilus leonardi Smith, 1940 | AnomochilidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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=Anomochilus&species=monticola 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.
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:6789W. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.