Xenotyphlops grandidieri

Xenotyphlops grandidieri
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Xenotyphlopidae
Genus:	Xenotyphlops
Species:	X. grandidieri
Binomial name
Xenotyphlops grandidieri (Mocquard, 1905) [2]
Synonyms
Typhlops Grandidieri Mocquard, 1905 Typhlops grandidieri — Boulenger, 1915 Xenotyphlops grandidieri — Wallach & Ineich, 1996 Xenotyphlops mocquardi Wallach, Mercurio & Andreone, 2007 [3] Xenotyphlops grandidieri — Wegener et al., 2013 [4]

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. ^[5]

Taxonomy

In addition to having no subspecies, X. grandidieri is the only species in the genus Xenotyphlops, which is the only genus in the family Xenotyphlopidae. Therefore, X. grandidieri is a monotypic species in a monotypic genus in a monotypic family. ^[4]

Etymology

The specific name, grandidieri, is in honor of French naturalist Alfred Grandidier. ^[6]

Geographic range

X. grandidieri is found in northern Madagascar. ^[4]

For over 100 years X. grandidieri was known only from the type specimens and the vague type locality "Madagascar". ^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of X. grandidieri is shrubland or forest on sand dunes or with sandy soil, at altitudes from sea level to 50 m (160 ft). ^[1]

Reproduction

X. grandidieri is oviparous. ^[3]

References

1. Vences, M.; Raselimanana, A.; Rakotondravony, H.; Glaw, F. (2011). "Xenotyphlops grandidieri ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011 e.T172958A6948452. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T172958A6948452.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. 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).
3. Species Xenotyphlops grandidieri at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
4. Wegener et al. (2013).
5. "Xenotyphlops ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 29 August 2007.
6. 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, p. 105).

Further reading

• Glaw F, Vences M (2006). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. ISBN   978-3929449-03-7.
• Mocquard F (1905). "Note préliminaire sur une collection de Reptiles et de Batraciens offerte au Muséum par M. Maurice de Rothschild ". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle11 (5): 285–288. ("Typhlops Grandidieri ", new species, p. 287). (in French).
• 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.
• Wallach V, Ineich I (1996). "Redescription of a rare Malagasy blind snake, Typhlops grandidieri Mocquard, with placement in a new genus (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)". Journal of Herpetology30 (3): 367–376. (Xenotyphlops, new genus; Xenotyphlops grandidieri, new combination).