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There are more than forty species of blindsnake in Australia, all in the genus Ramphotyphlops. They occur throughout the country, excluding Tasmania and far south-eastern Victoria – yet despite their apparent pervasiveness, they are seldom seen – and certainly, rarely recognised.Completely harmless, they resemble overgrown worms, ranging from 17cm to 75cm in length, with slender, perfectly cylindrical bodies. Living underground, they have minute, barely-functional eyes, and tiny, ventrally-placed mouths designed for hoovering up termites and ant larvae and pupae.
Due to their intensely cryptic habits, they are all but a mystery to science, with much still to be learnt about their biology, behaviour and population numbers.
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