Rhinotyphlops lalandei

Rhinotyphlops lalandei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Rhinotyphlops
Species:	R. lalandei
Binomial name
	Rhinotyphlops lalandei; (Schlegel, 1839)
Synonyms [1]
	Typhlops lalandei; Schlegel, 1839; Onychcephalus delalandii; A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844; Typhlops delalandii; — Boulenger, 1893; Rhinotyphlops lalandei; — Roux-Estève, 1974;

Last updated May 05, 2019

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

In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; this kind of name is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism, which is Latinized. A common name is sometimes frequently used, but that is by no means always the case.

In biology, a species ( ) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. While these definitions may seem adequate, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies.

Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes. Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads with their highly mobile jaws. To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs about twenty-five times independently via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. Legless lizards resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, although this rule is not universal.

Etymology

The specific name, lalandei, is in honor of French naturalist Pierre Antoine Delalande.^[2]

In zoological nomenclature, the specific name is the second part within the scientific name of a species. The first part of the name of a species is the name of the genus or the generic name. The rules and regulations governing the giving of a new species name are explained in the article species description.

Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms including animals, fungi and plants in their environment; leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is called a naturalist or natural historian.

Pierre Antoine Delalande was a French naturalist and explorer.

Description

R. lalandei is a slender, pinkish-grey, blind snake, which has a pointed nose that it uses for burrowing.

It may attain a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) of 35 cm (13 ³⁄₄ in). The scales are arranged in 26-30 rows around the body. There are more than 300 dorsal scales in the vertebral row.^[3]

In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales.

The nostrils are located below the sharp horizontal cutting edge of the snout. The diameter of the body goes 35 to 50 times into the total length. The tail is as broad as long, or broader than long, ending in a spine.^[4]

Geographic range

R. lalandei occurs throughout the eastern half of Southern Africa, as far south as Cape Town and with isolated populations in western parts such as Namibia.^[5]^[6]

Southern Africa southernmost region of the African continent

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics, and including several countries. The term southern Africa or Southern Africa, generally includes Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, though Angola may be included in Central Africa and Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe in East Africa. From a political perspective the region is said to be unipolar with South Africa as a first regional power.

Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa, colloquially named the Mother City. It is the legislative capital of South Africa and primate city of the Western Cape province. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean; it shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek, and it is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Habitat

R. lalandei can be found in a variety of habitats including semidesert, savannah, coastal bush, and fynbos.^[3]

Fynbos is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting about 80% species of the Cape floral kingdom where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land has faced severe threats and still does, but due to the many economic uses conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.

Reproduction

The species R. lalandei is oviparous. The female lays a clutch of 2-4 eggs. The hatchlings are flesh-colored.^[3]

Related Research Articles

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. The tail ends with a horn-like scale. Most of these species are oviparous. Currently, 18 genera are recognized containing over 200 species.

Argyrophis diardii, known commonly 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.

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Rhinotyphlops boylei, commonly known as Boyle's beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Southern Africa.

Cross's beaked snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. R. crossii is endemic to West Africa.

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

Letheobia newtoni is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.

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.

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

Letheobia somalica, also known as the highland beaked snake or Ethiopian blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. It is endemic to Ethiopia.

Rhinotyphlops unitaeniatus, commonly known as the yellow-striped blind snake or the Kenya beaked snake, is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family. It is endemic to Africa.

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

The Bahamian slender blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.

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

Schmidt’s blind snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Africa.

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.

References

↑ "Rhinotyphlops lalandei ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org
↑ 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. (Rhinotyphlops lalandei, p. 149).
1 2 3 Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Rhinotyphlops lalandei, p. 53 + Plate 39).
↑ Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families Typhlopidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Typhlops delalandii, p. 45).
↑ McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (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).
↑ "Rhinotyphlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 29 August 2007.