Moroccan worm lizard

Moroccan Worm Lizard
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertoidea
Clade:	Amphisbaenia
Family:	Blanidae
Genus:	Blanus
Species:	B. mettetali
Binomial name
Blanus mettetali Bons, 1963
Synonyms [2]
Blanus cinereus mettetali Bons, 1963 Blanus mettetali — Busack, 1988

The Moroccan worm lizard (Blanus mettetali) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Blanidae. The species is endemic to Morocco. ^[3]

Etymology

The specific name, mettetali, is in honor of a Mr. Mettetal who was head of the Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Morocco. ^[4]

Description

Blanus mettetali has eight or more preanal pores, which are usually arranged in a continuous transverse series. ^[2]

Habitat

The natural habitats of Blanus mettetali are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, arable land, and pastureland, at elevations up to 2,092 m (6,864 ft). ^[1]

Behavior

Blanus mettetali is terrestrial, sheltering in sandy soil and under stones. ^[1]

Reproduction

Blanus mettetali is oviparous. ^{[1] [2]} Clutch size is one egg. ^[1]

Conservation status

Blanus mettetali is threatened by habitat loss.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Miras, J.A.M.; Joger, U.; Pleguezuelos, J.; Slimani, T. (2006). "Blanus mettetali ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2006 e.T61470A12472055. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T61470A12472055.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.{{cite iucn}}: uses deprecated |page= identifier (help)
2. Species Blanus mettetali at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Busack, Stephen D. (1988). "Biochemical and Morphological Differentiation in Spanish and Moroccan Populations of Blanus and the Description of a New Species from Northern Morocco (Reptilia, Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae)". Copeia. 1988 (1): 101–109. doi:10.2307/1445928. JSTOR   1445928. (Blanus mettetali, new taxonomic status).
4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Blanus mettetali, p. 177).

Further reading

• Bons, Jacques (1963). "Notes sur Blanus cinereus (Vandelli), description d'une sous-espèce Marocaine: Blanus cinereus mettetali ssp. nov." Bulletin de la Société des Sciences naturelles et physiques du Maroc (1-2): 95–107. (Blanus cinereus mettetali, new suspecies). (in French).
• Schleich, H.H.; Kästle, W.; Kabisch, K. (1996). Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa. Königstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books. ISBN   978-3874293778. 630 pp. (Blanus mettetali, p. 468).
• Sindaco, R.; Jeremčenko, V.K. (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. (Monographs of the Societas Herpetologica Italica). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. ISBN   978-88-89504-14-7. 580 pp.

Phylogeographical patterns

• Albert EM, Zardoya R, García-París M (2007). "Phylogeographical and speciation patterns in subterranean worm lizards of the genus Blanus (Amphisbaenia: Blanidae)". Molecular Ecology. 16 (7): 1519–1531. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03248.x. ISSN   0962-1083. PMID   17391273. S2CID   26071914.
• Vasconcelos, Raquel; Harris, D. James; Carretero, Miguel (2006). "Phylogeography of the genus Blanus (worm lizards) in Iberia and Morocco based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers — preliminary analysis". Amphibia-Reptilia. 27 (3): 339–346. doi: 10.1163/156853806778190033 . ISSN   0173-5373.