Leptotyphlops
| Leptotyphlops | |
|---|---|
| |
| Peters's thread snake (Leptotyphlops scutifrons) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Leptotyphlopidae |
| Genus: | Leptotyphlops Fitzinger, 1843 |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Leptotyphlops is a genus of nonvenomous blind snakes, commonly known as slender blind snakes and threadsnakes,[2] found throughout North and South America, Africa, Indian subcontinent and southwestern Asia. 11 species have been moved to the genus Trilepida, others moved to the genera Epictia, Tricheilostoma, and Rena.
Description
Most species look much like shiny earthworms. They are pink or brown, and their scales give them a segmented appearance. Other species are black in color, but have the same general body structure. Their common name comes from the fact that their eyes are greatly reduced almost to the point of uselessness, and hidden behind a protective head scale. The species which are called thread snakes are so named because of their very narrow, long bodies.
Geographic range
Found in the Americas, Africa, India, Pakistan southwestern Asia. In the Americas from the southwestern United States, south through most of Central and South America as far as Uruguay and Argentina. Also found on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas, in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and in the Lesser Antilles. Also found on Socotra Island.[1]
Behavior
All blind snakes are burrowing snakes, spending most of their time deep in loose soil, typically only emerging when it rains and they get flooded out.
Diet
Their primary diet is ant and termite larvae.
Species
| Species[2] | Taxon author[2] | Subsp.*[2] | Common name | Geographic range | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L. aethiopicus[3] | Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | ||||
| L. albiventer | Hallermann & Rödel, 1995 | 0 | |||
| L. asbolepis | Thomas, McDiarmid & F. Thompson, 1985 | 0 | Martin Garcia thread snake | ||
| L. bilineatus | (Schlegel, 1839) | 0 | two-lined blind snake | ||
| L. blanfordii | (Boulenger, 1890) | 0 | Sindh thread snake | ||
| L. borrichianus | (Degerbøl, 1923) | 0 | Degerbøl's blind snake | ||
| L. boulengeri | (Boettger, 1913) | 0 | Manda flesh-pink blind snake | ||
| L. brevicaudus | (Bocage, 1887) | 0 | |||
| L. breuili | Hedges, 2008 | 0 | St. Lucia threadsnake | ||
| L. burii | (Boulenger, 1905) | 0 | Arabian blind snake | ||
| L. cairi | (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844) | 0 | Cairo blind snake | ||
| L. calypso | Thomas, McDiarmid & F. Thompson, 1985 | 0 | Samana thread snake | ||
| L. carlae | Hedges, 2008 | 0 | Barbados threadsnake | ||
| L. conjunctus | (Jan, 1861) | 3 | Cape thread snake | ||
| L. cupinensis | Bailey & Carvalho, 1946 | 0 | Mato Grosso blind snake | ||
| L. debilis | (Chabanaud, 1918) | 0 | West African blind snake | ||
| L. distanti | (Boulenger, 1892) | 0 | Distant's blind snake | ||
| L. drewesi | Wallach, 1996 | 0 | Drewes's worm snake | ||
| L. emini | (Boulenger, 1890) | 0 | Emin Pasha's worm snake | ||
| L. filiformis | (Boulenger, 1899) | 0 | Socotra Island blind snake | ||
| L. fitzingeri | (Jan, 1861) | 0 | |||
| L. gestri | (Boulenger, 1906) | 0 | |||
| L. gracilior | (Boulenger, 1910) | 0 | slender thread snake | ||
| L. hamulirostris | (Nikolsky, 1907) | 0 | |||
| L. howelli [3] | Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | ||||
| L. incognitus[3] | Broadley & Watson, 1976 | ||||
| L. jacobseni [3] | Broadley & S. Broadley, 1999 | ||||
| L. kafubi [3] | (Boulenger, 1919) | ||||
| L. keniensis[3] | Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | ||||
| L. labialis | (Sternfeld, 1908) | 0 | Damara thread snake | ||
| L. latirostris[3] | (Sternfeld, 1912) | ||||
| L. leptepileptus | Thomas, McDiarmid & F. Thompson, 1985 | 0 | Haitian border thread snake | ||
| L. longicaudus | (W. Peters, 1854) | 0 | long-tailed thread snake | ||
| L. macrops | Broadley & Wallach, 1996 | 0 | large-eyed worm snake | ||
| L. macrorhynchus | (Jan, 1860) | 0 | long-nosed worm snake | ||
| L. macrurus | (Boulenger, 1903) | 0 | Boulenger's blind snake | ||
| L. mbanjensis[3] | Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | ||||
| L. melanotermus | (Cope, 1862) | 0 | Latin American blind snake | ||
| L. merkeri [3] | (F. Werner, 1909) | ||||
| L. narirostris | (W. Peters, 1867) | 1 | |||
| L. nasalis | Taylor, 1940 | 0 | Taylor's blind snake | ||
| L. natatrix | (Andersson, 1937) | 0 | Gambia blind snake | ||
| L. nigricansT | (Schlegel, 1839) | 0 | black thread snake | ||
| L. nigroterminus[3] | Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | ||||
| L. nursii | (Anderson, 1896) | 0 | Nurse's blind snake | ||
| L. occidentalis | FitzSimons, 1962 | 0 | Western thread snake | ||
| L. pembae[3] | Loveridge, 1941 | ||||
| L. perreti | Roux-Estève, 1979 | 0 | |||
| L. pitmani [3] | Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | ||||
| L. pungwensis[3] | Broadley & Wallach, 1997 | ||||
| L. pyrites | Thomas, 1965 | 0 | Thomas's blind snake | ||
| L. reticulatus | (Boulenger, 1906) | 0 | reticulate blind snake | ||
| L. rostratus | (Bocage, 1886) | 0 | Bocage's blind snake | ||
| L. scutifrons | (W. Peters, 1854) | 0 | Peters' thread snake | ||
| L. septemstriatus | (Schneider, 1801) | 0 | seven-striped blind snake | ||
| L. sylvicolus[3] | Broadley & Wallach, 1997 | ||||
| L. tanae[3] | Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | ||||
| L. telloi | Broadley & Watson, 1976 | 0 | Tello's thread snake | ||
| L. variabilis | (Scortecci, 1928) | 0 | |||
| L. weyrauchi | Orejas-Miranda, 1964 | 0 | Argentine blind snake | ||
| L. wilsoni | Hahn, 1978 | 0 | Wilson's blind snake |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.
Taxonomy
Two new species, L. breuili from Saint Lucia and L. carlae from the Caribbean island of Barbados, were described by Hedges (2008). At only 10 cm (4 in), L. carlae is believed to be slightly smaller than L. bilineatus, and thus to be the world's smallest snake.[4]
See also
- List of leptotyphlopid species and subspecies
- Leptotyphlopidae by common name
- Leptotyphlopidae by taxonomic synonyms
References
- ^ a b McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ a b c d "Leptotyphlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Leptotyphlops" . The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Hedges SB (2008). "At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata, Leptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles". Zootaxa 1841: 1-30. (Leptotyphlops carlae, new species, pp. 5-9, Figure 1A). PDF at Zootaxa. Accessed 28 July 2008.
External links
- Leptotyphlops at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 29 August 2007.