Typhlopidae

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Typhlopidae
Typhlops vermicularis 9.jpg
European blind snake (Xerotyphlops vermicularis)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Infraorder: Scolecophidia
Superfamily: Typhlopoidea
Family: Typhlopidae
Merrem, 1820
Synonyms

The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. [2] They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. [3] The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel-like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since they have no use for vision, their eyes are mostly vestigial. They have light-detecting black eye spots, and teeth occur in the upper jaw. Typhlopids do not have dislocatable lower jaw articulations restricting them to prey smaller than their oral aperture. All species in the family Typhlopidae are fossorial and feed on social fossorial invertebrates such as termites and ants. The tracheal lung is present and chambered in all species. One species, the Brahminy's blind snake, is the only unisexual snake, with the entire population being female and reproducing via parthenogenesis. [4] The tail ends with a horn-like scale. Most of these species are oviparous. Currently, 18 genera are recognized containing over 200 species. [2] [5]

Contents

Evolution

The Typhlopidae are thought to have originated on Madagascar during the Late Cretaceous, along with their sister group, the Xenotyphlopidae. The common ancestor of both families is thought to have diverged from the Gerrhopilidae earlier in the Cretaceous, when Insular India broke away from Madagascar. Afterwards, the Typhlopidae are thought to have dispersed out of Madagascar (leaving behind a single basal genus, Madatyphlops ) into mainland Africa and then Eurasia, in contrast to the Xenotyphlopidae which remained restricted to Madagascar. From these regions, the Typhlopidae went on to colonize the rest of the world, with African typhlopids rafting across the Atlantic to South America during the Paleocene, then colonizing the Caribbean during the Oligocene, while Asian typhlopids colonized Australia from Southeast Asia or Indonesia later in the Oligocene. [6] [7]

Fossil record

Possible Typhlopid skin has been identified in Dominican amber. [8]

Geographic range

They are found in most tropical and many subtropical regions all over the world, particularly in Africa, Asia, islands in the Pacific, tropical America, and southeastern Europe. [1]

Genera

Genus [2] Taxon author [2] Species [2] Common nameGeographic range [1]
Acutotyphlops Wallach, 19955Eastern Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
Afrotyphlops Broadley & Wallach, 2009 [9] 29sub-Saharan Africa
Amerotyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 201419Mexico through South America
Anilios Gray, 184548Australia and New Guinea.
Antillotyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 201412Caribbean islands
Argyrophis Gray, 184512Asia
Cubatyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 201412Caribbean islands
Cyclotyphlops Bosch & Ineich, 19941 Indonesia: Selatan Province, southern Sulawesi
Grypotyphlops W. Peters, 1881 [10] 1peninsular India
Indotyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 201423Asia
Letheobia Cope, 1869 [11] 37Africa and the Middle East
Madatyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 201415Madagascar, the Comoro Islands, Mauritius
Malayotyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 201412the Philippines and Indonesia
Ramphotyphlops Fitzinger, 184322long-tailed blind snakes [2] southern and southeast Asia, as well as many islands in the southern Pacific Ocean
Rhinotyphlops Fitzinger, 18437Africa
Sundatyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 20141Indonesia and East Timor
Typhlops T Oppel, 181120the West Indies
Xerotyphlops Hedges, Marion, Lipp, Marin & Vidal, 20146Palearctic

T Type genus [1]

Former genera

Xenotyphlops , formerly classified in the Typhlopidae, is now classed in the Xenotyphlopidae.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Amerotyphlops brongersmianus</i> Species of snake

Amerotyphlops brongersmianus, known commonly as Brongersma's worm snake or the South American striped blindsnake, is a species of harmless blind snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to South America and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Indotyphlops braminus</i> Species of reptile

Indotyphlops braminus, commonly known as the brahminy blind snake and other names, is a non-venomous blind snake species, which is found mostly in Africa and Asia, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. It is a completely fossorial reptile, with habits and appearance similar to an earthworm, for which it is often mistaken, although close examination reveals tiny scales and eyes rather than the annular segments characteristic of a true earthworm. The species is parthenogenetic and all known specimens have been female. The specific name is a Latinized form of the word Brahmin. No subspecies are currently recognized as being valid.

<i>Grypotyphlops acutus</i> Species of snake

Grypotyphlops acutus, also known as the beaked worm snake, beaked blind snake, or beak-nosed worm snake, is a harmless blind snake species endemic to peninsular India. It is the only species in the genus Grypotyphlops. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Argyrophis oatesii, also known commonly as the Andaman Island worm snake or Oates's blind snake, is a species of harmless snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to the Andaman Islands. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scolecophidia</span> Infraorder of snakes

The Scolecophidia, commonly known as blind snakes or thread snakes, are an infraorder of snakes. They range in length from 10 to 100 centimetres. All are fossorial. Five families and 39 genera are recognized. The Scolecophidia infraorder is most likely paraphyletic.

Letheobia is a genus of blind snakes in the family Typhlopidae.

Anilios diversus, or the northern blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interior blind snake</span> Species of reptile

Anilios endoterus is commonly known as the interior blind snake. It is one of 42 species of snake in the genus Anilios (Ramphotyphlops) from the Typhlopidae family living in Australia. These snakes appear to be blind, having vestigial eyes that are extremely sensitive to light. It is a cryptic burrowing snake that lives in tunnels underground, living mainly on a diet of ants. They are found in arid and semi-arid desert regions of central Australia and are considered endangered in New South Wales (NSW).

The Kimberley deep-soil blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Anilios silvia, also known commonly as the great sandy blind snake or Sylvia's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to northeastern Australia.

The Angolan giant blind snake or Angolan giant blind-snake, also known as the anomalous beaked snake, is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family. It is endemic to Angola. Its classification was changed from Rhinotyphlops to Megatyphlops when Rhinotyphlops was found to be polyphyletic. In 2014 Megatyphlops was changed to Afrotyphlops.

Letheobia graueri, also known commonly as the Lake Tanganyika gracile blind snake, Grauer's gracile blind snake, Sternfeld's beaked snake, and Grauer's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to central and eastern Africa.

Rhinotyphlops scorteccii, commonly known as Scortecci's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Somalia.

Letheobia wittei, also known commonly as De Witte's gracile blind snake or Witte's beaked snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Africa.

Madatyphlops domerguei is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.

Argyrophis klemmeri, also known as Klemmer's blind snake or the Kuala Lumpur worm snake, is a species of Asian snake in the family Typhlopidae.

<i>Afrotyphlops schlegelii</i> Species of snake

Afrotyphlops schlegelii, commonly known as Schlegel's beaked blind snake or Schlegel's giant blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to eastern and southern Africa, and bears the distinction of being the world's largest typhlopid. It is harmless to humans and lives exclusively on a diet of termites.

The Gerrhopilidae are a family of blindsnakes that contains at least 16 species in the genus Gerrhopilus, and possibly others as well. These blindsnakes are found in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

Afrotyphlops blanfordii, commonly known as Blanford's blind-snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to the Horn of Africa.

Anilios ganei, also known commonly as Gane's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 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).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Typhlopidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  3. ↑ Shine, Richard (2007). Australian Snakes, a Natural History. Chatswood, New South Wales: New Holland Publishers. 224 pp. ISBN   978-1-876334-25-3.
  4. ↑ Webb, Jonathan K.; Branch, William R.; Shine, Richard (2001). "Dietary Habits and Reproductive Biology of Typhlopid Snakes from Southern Africa". Journal of Herpetology. 35 (4): 558–567. doi:10.2307/1565893. ISSN   0022-1511. JSTOR   1565893.
  5. ↑ Pyron, Robert Alexander; Burbrink, Frank T.; Wiens, John J. (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (1): 93–145. Bibcode:2013BMCEE..13...93P. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-93 . PMC   3682911 . PMID   23627680.
  6. ↑ Vidal, Nicolas; et al. (2010). "Blindsnake evolutionary tree reveals long history on Gondwana". Biology Letters. 6 (4): 558–561, page 560. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0220. PMC   2936224 . PMID   20356885.
  7. ↑ Ali, Jason R.; Hedges, S. Blair (2023). "The colonisation of Madagascar by land‐bound vertebrates". Biological Reviews. 98 (5): 1583–1606. doi:10.1111/brv.12966. ISSN   1464-7931. PMID   37142264. S2CID   258507224.
  8. ↑ Poinar, George O.; Poinar, Roberta (1999). The Amber Forest: A Reconstruction of a Vanished World. Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0-691-05728-6.
  9. ↑ Broadley, Donald G. & Wallach, Van (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" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2255: 1–100. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2255.1.1.
  10. ↑ Resurrected for a reclassified Rhinotyphlops acutus by Wallach (2003). Wallach, Van & Pauwels, Olivier S. G. (2004). "Typhlops lazelli, a new species of Chinese blindsnake from Hong Kong (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)". Breviora. 512 (512): 1–21. doi:10.3099/0006-9698(2004)512[1:TLANSO]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   86212032.
  11. ↑ Resurrected by Broadley & Wallach (2007). Wallach, Van; Brown, R.M.; Diesmos, A.C. & Gee, G.V.A. (2007). "An enigmatic new species of blind snake from Luzon Island, northern Philippines, with a synopsis of the genus Acutotyphlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)" (PDF). Journal of Herpetology. 41 (4): 690–702. doi:10.1670/206-5.1. S2CID   7385343.
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