Apostolepis dorbignyi, also known commonly as the Bolivian burrowing snake and Dorbigny's blackhead, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to western South America.
Etymology The specific name, dorbignyi, is in honor of French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Apostolepis dorbignyi, p. 74).
Geographic range A. dorbignyi is found in Bolivia and Peru.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of A. dorbignyi is savanna, at altitudes of about .
Description A small snake, A. dorbignyi may attain a total length of about , which includes a tail about 5 cm (2 in) long.Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Apostolepis dorbignyi, new combination, p. 236).
Diet A. dorbignyi preys predominately upon amphisbaenians and small snakes, but will also eat other organisms found in soil such as earthworms, other invertebrates, and larvae of invertebrates.
Reproduction A. dorbignyi is oviparous.
References
Further reading Freiberg MA (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Apostolepis dorbignyi, p. 89). Harvey MB (1999). "Revision of Bolivian Apostolepis (Squamata: Colubridae)". Copeia 1999 (2): 388–409. Lema T (2001). "Fossorial snake genus Apostolepis from South America (Serpentes: Colubridae: Elapomorphinae)". Cuadernos de Herpetología 15 (1): 29–43. Schlegel H (1837). Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. Partie Générale. xxviii + 251 pp. AND Partie Descriptive. 600 + xvi pp. Amsterdam: M.H. Schonekat. (Calamaria d'orbignyi, new species, pp. 30–31 in Partie Descriptive). (in French).