[citation needed] The specific name, laurenti, is in honor of Belgian herpetologist Raymond Ferdinand Laurent.

[3] Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Mehelya.

Their body shape is triangular in cross section, which has been noted amongst other "cannibalistic" snakes, and may also provide some sort of benefit for them within their burrowing lifestyle.

[citation needed] File snakes generally occupy more humid regions, but are found in hotter desert areas, too.

They will occupy old, abandoned burrows of rodents where they shelter from the heat in the relative coolness underground.