Leptotyphlopidae

The Leptotyphlopidae (commonly called slender blind snakes or thread snakes[2]) are a family of snakes found in North America, South America, Africa, & Asia. All are fossorial and adapted to burrowing, feeding on ants and termites. Two subfamilies are recognized.[2]

Leptotyphlopidae
Western blind snake, Rena humilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Superfamily: Typhlopoidea
Family: Leptotyphlopidae
Stejneger, 1892
Subfamilies

Epictinae
Leptotyphlopinae

Synonyms
  • Stenostomata - Ritgen, 1828
  • Stenostomi - Wiegmann & Ruthe, 1832
  • Stenostomina - Bonaparte, 1845
  • Stenostomatidae - Günther, 1885
  • Stenostomidae - Cope, 1886
  • Glauconiidae - Boulenger, 1890
  • Leptotyphlopidae - Stejneger, 1892[1]

Description

These relatively small snakes rarely exceed 30 cm in length; only Trilepida macrolepis and Leptotyphlops occidentalis grow larger. The cranium and upper jaws are immobile and no teeth are in the upper jaw. The lower jaw consists of a much elongated quadrate bone, a tiny compound bone, and a relatively larger dentary bone.[3] The body is cylindrical with a blunt head and a short tail. The scales are highly polished. The pheromones they produce protect them from attack by termites.[4] Among these snakes is what is believed to be the world's smallest: L. carlae (Hedges, 2008).[5]

Geographic range

These snakes are found in Africa, western Asia from Turkey to eastern India, on Socotra Island, and from the southwestern United States south through Mexico and Central America to South America, though not in the high Andes. In Pacific South America, they occur as far south as southern coastal Peru, and on the Atlantic side as far as Uruguay and Argentina. In the Caribbean, they are found on the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and the Lesser Antilles.[1]

Habitat

They occur in a wide variety of habitats from arid areas to rainforest, and are known to occur near ant and termite nests.

Feeding

Their diets consist mostly of termite or ant larvae, pupae, and adults. Most species suck out the contents of insect bodies and discard the exoskeleton.

Reproduction

Snakes in this family are oviparous.[3]

Taxonomy
  • Subfamily Leptotyphlopinae
    • Genus Epacrophis [Hedges, Adalsteinsson, & Branch, 2009] (3 species)
    • Genus Leptotyphlops [Fitzinger, 1843] (21 species)
    • Genus Myriopholis [Hedges, Adalsteinsson, & Branch, 2009] (23 species)
    • Genus Namibiana [Hedges, Adalsteinsson, & Branc, 2009] (5 species)
  • Subfamily Epictinae
    • Tribe Epictini, New World snakes
      • Subtribe Epictina
      • Subtribe Renina
        • Genus Rena [Baird & Girard, 1853] (11 species)
        • Genus Trilepida [Hedges, 2011] (14 species)
      • Subtribe Tetracheilostomina
    • Tribe Rhinoleptini, African snakes
      • Genus Tricheilostoma [Jan, 1860] (5 species)
      • Genus Rhinoleptus [Orejas-Miranda, Roux-Estève & Guibé, 1970] Villiers's blind snake
      • Genus Rhinoguinea [Trape, 2014] Rhinoguinea magna
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See also

References
  1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. "Leptotyphlopidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 August 2007.
  3. Leptotyphlopidae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 3 November 2008.
  4. Field Guide to Snakes of Southern Africa - Bill Branch (Struik 1988)
  5. Hedges SB. 2008. At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata, Leptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles. Zootaxa 1841:1-30.PDF at Zootaxa. Accessed 28 July 2008.
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