Blanus mariae

Maria's Worm Lizard (Blanus mariae) is an amphisbaenian species in the family Blanidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.[1]

Blanus mariae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Blanidae
Genus: Blanus
Species:
B. mariae
Binomial name
Blanus mariae
Albert & Fernández, 2009

Geographic range

Blanus mariae is found in southern Spain, southern Portugal, and Gibraltar.[1]

Taxonomy

Blanus mariae forms a cryptic species complex with Blanus cinereus.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, mariae, is in honour of Maria del Rosario Aguilar Tortajada (1914–2002), the grandmother of Eva María Albert, one of the scientists who described this species.[1][3]

Description

Blanus mariae has an average snout–vent length of 175 mm (6.9 in). The body colour is pale pink to dark brilliant purple, with a reticulate pattern caused by the inter-segmental sutures.[1]

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References
  1. Blanus mariae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 8 July 2015.
  2. Bolet, Arnau; Delfino, Massimo; Fortuny, Josep; Almécija, Sergio; Robles, Josep M.; Alba, David M. (4 June 2014). "An amphisbaenian skull from the European Miocene and the evolution of Mediterranean worm lizards". PLOS ONE. 9: e98082. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098082. PMC 4045672. PMID 24896828.
  3. 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. (Blanus mariae, pp. 168-169).

Further reading

Albert, Eva M.; Fernández, Adrián (2009). "Evidence of cryptic speciation in a fossorial reptile: description of a new species of Blanus (Squamata: Amphisbaenia: Blanidae) from the Iberian Peninsula". Zootaxa 2234: 56-68. (Blanus mariae, new species).

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