Xenotyphlops

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Xenotyphlops
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: Xenotyphlopidae
Vidal, Vences, Branch & Hedges, 2010
Genus: Xenotyphlops
Wallach & Ineich, 1996
Species

Two species, see text

Xenotyphlops is a genus of snakes, the only genus of the family Xenotyphlopidae, comprising two species found only in Madagascar. [1] These snakes are also known as the Malagasy blind snake. [2]

Contents

Evolution

Xenotyphlops is an ancient group that diverged from other blind snakes during the Cretaceous, following the separation of Madagascar from India. On the newly-isolated Madagascar, the ancestral Xenotyphlopidae and Typhlopidae diverged from one another; Typhlopidae dispersed worldwide from Madagascar while leaving behind a single Malagasy genus ( Madatyphlops ), while the Xenotyphlopidae remained restricted to Madagascar. Xenotyphlops, Madatyphlops, and the Madagascan big-headed turtle are the only Malagasy terrestrial vertebrates whose isolation on Madagascar is due to Gondwanan vicariance. [3]

Physical characteristics

The family Xenotyphlopidae is composed of small blind snakes. [2] These members lack cranial infrared receptors in pits or durface indentations. [2] It is thought that these snakes used to have eyes but lost use of them over time. [4] Members of the genus Xenotyphlops are distinguishable externally from the Typhlopidae by possessing a greatly enlarged and nearly circular rostral shield and a single enlarged anal shield. [2] This shield is nearly vertical in a lateral aspect; as a result, the two species have a "bulldozer" appearance. Xenotyphlops get no larger than an earthworm and have translucent pink scales. [4] Xenotyphlops species are internally unique in that they lack a tracheal lung and possess an unexpanded tracheal membrane. [5] Like many other snake families they are assumed to be oviparous. [2] Both species are completely terrestrial. [6]

Geographic range

Snakes of the genus Xenotyphlops are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Xenotyphlops burrow in the softer sandy soil of Madagascar's coastline forest and shrubland. [4] For over 100 years the genus was known only from the type locality, which was "Madagascar", and only from the type specimens. [7] These snakes presumably live in colonies of subterranean social insects. [2]

Conservation statu

According to the IUCN Red List, X. grandidieri are considered to be critically endangered and X. mocquardi are data deficient. [6] The two biggest threats to these species are Energy production (via mining/quarrying) and biological resource use (via logging and unintentional effects). [6]

Species

Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Xenotyphlops.

Etymology

The specific name, grandidieri, is in honor of French naturalist Alfred Grandidier. [8]

The specific name, mocquardi, is in honor of French herpetologist François Mocquard. [8]

Taxonomy

In 2013, after examining several newly collected specimens, Wegener et al. concluded that X. mocquardi falls within the range of variation of X. grandidieri, and they proposed that X. mocquardi be considered a synonym of X. grandidieri. This change would make Xenotyphlops a monotypic genus in a monotypic family. [9] The Xenotyphlipidae's sister taxon are the Typhlopidae. [2]

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. 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.

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.

<i>Typhlops</i> Genus of snakes

Typhlops is a genus of blind snakes in the family Typhlopidae. The genus is endemic to the West Indies. Some species which were formerly placed in the genus Typhlops have been moved to the genera Afrotyphlops, Amerotyphlops, Anilios, Antillotyphlops, Argyrophis, Cubatyphlops, Indotyphlops, Letheobia, Madatyphlops, Malayotyphlops, and Xerotyphlops.

Xenotyphlops grandidieri is a species of blind snake in the family Xenotyphlopidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. 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.

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.

The beaked blind snake, also known commonly as Waite's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.

The brown-snouted blind snake, also known commonly as Wied's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Indotyphlops ahsanai is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Pakistan. No further information is available about this species because it is rarely encountered, and apparently of small number. No picture of the snake has been recorded yet۔

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.

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.

Malayotyphlops koekkoeki, also known commonly as Koekkoek's blind snake or the Boenjoe Island worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.

Marx's worm snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.

Indotyphlops madgemintonae is a species of blind snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Pakistan. Not further Study available about this species.

Reuter's blind snake, also known commonly as Reuter's worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.

Steinhaus's worm snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Central Africa.

Van Stanley Bartholomew Wallach is an American herpetologist and an expert on blindsnakes and on the systematics, internal anatomy, and taxonomy of snakes. He has contributed to the descriptions of at least 46 species of snakes and has conducted fieldwork on tropical snakes in the Philippines, Nicaragua, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

<i>Madatyphlops</i> Genus of snakes

Madatyphlops is a genus of snakes in the family Typhlopidae.

References

  1. ↑ "Xenotyphlops ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2013). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles, Fourth Edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Academic Press. ISBN   0-12-386919-6. OCLC   934973974.
  3. ↑ Ali, Jason R.; Hedges, S. Blair (2023-05-04). "The colonisation of Madagascar by land‐bound vertebrates". Biological Reviews. doi:10.1111/brv.12966. ISSN   1464-7931.
  4. 1 2 3 "Madagascar blind snake | Xenotyphlops grandidieri ". EDGE of Existence. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  5. ↑ Species Xenotyphlops grandidieri at The Reptile Database . Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. 1 2 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. (Xenotyphlops grandidieri, pp. 105-106; X. mocquardi, p. 181).
  9. ↑ Wegener JE, Swoboda S, Hawlitschek O, Franzen M, Wallach V, Vences M, Nagy ZT, Hedges SB, Köhler J, Glaw F (2013). "Morphological variation and taxonomic reassessment of the endemic Malagasy blind snake family Xenotyphlopidae (Serpentes, Scolecophidia)". Spixiana36 (2): 269-282.

Further reading


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