Typhlops hectus

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Tiburon Peninsula Blindsnake
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Typhlops
Species:
T. hectus
Binomial name
Typhlops hectus
Thomas  [ fr ], 1974 [2]

Typhlops hectus (common names: Tiburon Peninsula blind snake, [1] Thomas's worm snake [3] ) is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. [4] [5] [3] It is endemic to southwestern Haiti and is known from the Tiburon Peninsula and the island of Grand Cayemite, with an isolated record from Gonâve Island. [1] Specimens of uncertain status are known further northeast, in an area extending into the Dominican Republic; whether these belong to Typhlops hectus or an undescribed species is pending further investigations. [6]

Contents

Description

The total length in adults varies between 135–218 mm (5.3–8.6 in). [6] The tail is short: the 192 mm long holotype had a 5 mm tail. There are 284–328 mid-dorsal scales. Coloration varies from pale gray to tan. In some specimens, the coloration is bicolor with a sharp mid-lateral transition just one or two scale rows wide, from the pigmented dorsum to the unpigmented venter. In other specimens, the transition occurs closer to the venter, with some specimens being almost entirely pigmented. [2]

Typhlops hectus is oviparous. [3]

Habitat and conservation

Typhlops hectus is a fossorial species that occurs in a range of habitats including various types of forests (pine forests, and semi-deciduous and broad-leaved evergreen rainforests), semi-xeric scrub woods, edges of cane fields, and open fields and yards. It occurs from sea level to about 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. [1]

Typhlops hectus is an occasionally encountered species. Its population is considered to be severely fragmented. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by agriculture expansion, charcoal production, and wood harvesting. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Typhlopidae</span> Family of snakes

The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. 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. The tail ends with a horn-like scale. Most of these species are oviparous. Currently, 18 genera are recognized containing over 200 species.

<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.

Beddome's worm snake is a species of harmless blind snake in the family Gerrhopilidae. The species is native to southern India. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Argyrophis diardii</i> Species of snake

Argyrophis diardii, commonly known as Diard's blind snake, the Indochinese blind snake, the large blind snake, or the large worm snake, is a species of harmless snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to South Asia and Southeast Asia. There are two recognized subspecies.

Indotyphlops meszoelyi, the Darjeeling worm snake or Meszoely's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Darjeeling, West Bengal Province, India.

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.

Xenotyphlops is a genus of snakes, the only genus of the family Xenotyphlopidae, comprising two species found only in Madagascar. These snakes are also known as the Malagasy blind snake.

The Saint Barts blind snake is a species of blind snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy, an overseas collectivity of France. The species was first described in 1999, and it is still not well known.

<i>Rhinotyphlops schinzi</i> Species of snake

Rhinotyphlops schinzi, commonly known as Schinz's beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibron's blind snake</span> Species of snake

Bibron's blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to southern Africa.

Typhlops capitulatus, commonly known as the Haitian pale-lipped blind snake or Richmond's worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Haiti. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

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

Gierra's blind snake, also commonly called the Usambara spotted blind snake and the Usambara spotted worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Tanzania.

The Estado Falcón worm snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Venezuela.

The Hispaniola worm snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

Typhlops syntherus is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola and occurs in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is oviparous. It is a relatively common species but occurs in an area with dense human population where it is threatened by habitat loss.

The titan worm snake is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.

Cubatyphlops is a genus of snakes in the family Typhlopidae.

John Paul Richard Thomas is an American taxonomist and systematist, and retired professor of herpetology and evolution at University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. He described several species new to science, mostly amphibians and reptiles, from throughout the Caribbean islands including the common coquí, the national animal of Puerto Rico.


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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Landestoy, M.; Hedges, B.; Inchaustegui, S. (2016). "Typhlops hectus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T178705A77339745. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T178705A77339745.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Thomas, R. (1974). "A new species of Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) from Hispaniola". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 87: 11–18.
  3. 1 2 3 Typhlops hectus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Typhlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  5. ↑ 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. ISBN   978-1-893777-00-2.
  6. 1 2 Thomas, R.; Hedges, S.B. (2007). "Eleven new species of snakes of the genus Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) from Hispaniola and Cuba" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1400: 1–26. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1400.1.1.
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