Gierra's blind snake

Gierra's blind snake
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Afrotyphlops
Species:	A. gierrai
Binomial name
Afrotyphlops gierrai Mocquard, 1897
Synonyms [2]
Typhlops gierrai Mocquard, 1897 Typhlops punctatus gierrai — Barbour & Loveridge, 1928 Typhlops gierrai — Laurent, 1964 Rhinotyphlops gierrai — Broadley & Wallach, 2000 Afrotyphlops gierrai — Broadley & Wallach, 2009

Gierra's blind snake (Afrotyphlops gierrai), also commonly called the Usambara spotted blind snake and the Usambara spotted worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. ^{[3] [4]} The species is endemic to Tanzania.

Etymology

The specific name, gierrai, is in honor of Mr. A. Gierra, an expert in the languages of North Africa and East Africa, who collected the type specimen. ^[5]

Geographic range

A. gierrai is found in the Ukaguru Mountains, the Ulaguru Mountains, and the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. ^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of A. gierrai is forest, at altitudes of 600–1,042 m (1,969–3,419 ft). ^[1]

Reproduction

A. gierrai is oviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Howell K, Beraducci J, Menegon M, Ngalason W, Spawls S (2021). "Afrotyphlops gierrai ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T178405A46181636. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Species Afrotyphlops gierrai at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. "Typhlops ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved August 14, 2010.
4. McDiarmid, Roy W.; Campbell, Jonathan A.; Touré, T'Shaka A. (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (Typhlops gierrai, p. 103).
5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Typhlops gierrai, p. 100).

Further reading

• Barbour T, Loveridge A (1928). "A Comparative Study of the Herpetological Faunae of the Uluguru and Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory with Descriptions of New Species". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College50 (2): 85–265. (Typhlops punctatus gierrai, new taxonomic status, pp. 106–108).
• Broadley DG, Wallach V (2009). "A review of the eastern and southern African blind-snakes (Serpentes: Typhlopidae), excluding Letheobia Cope, with the description of two new genera and a new species". Zootaxa2255: 1–100. (Afrotyphlops gierrai, new combination, p. 38).
• Laurent RF (1964). "A Revision of the punctatus Group of African Typhlops ". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University130 (6): 387–444. (Typhlops gierrai, p. 417).
• Mocquard F (1897). "Note sur quelques Reptiles de Tanga, don de M. [=Monsieur ] Gierra ". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris3 (4): 122–123. (Typhlops gierrai, new species). (in French).