Typhlopidae

Blind Snake from Singapore and 24 mm coin

The blind snakes ( Typhlopidae ) are a family of snakes ( Serpentes ). In most cases these are small worm-like snakes 15 to 30 centimeters in body length, which live underground. There are about 200 known species.

Features

The dummy queues reach body lengths from 15 to 30 centimeters, the major species are about 75 cm long. They are yellowish brown and covered with small, overlapping scales. The tail is short and carries a terminal spine in many species to be anchored in the ground. The head is blunt and not separated from the body, the eyes often sharply formed and covered by slightly larger scales. The blind snakes include good 220 species and occur in almost all warm regions, especially in the tropics before. With the uniform Körperbeschuppung, the blunt, not set off from the neck head and small eyes, they almost look like large earthworms. Said body is adapted to the underground life of the animals. So will probably be distinguished only with the small eyes between light and dark, hence the name of blind snakes. Much of the blind snakes is oviparous.

Way of life

Blind snakes live underground in the rule and are found in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They feed primarily on insects, especially termites and ants. Most species are oviparous, that lay eggs, some give but also to live young ( Ovoviviparie ).

Species

The blind snakes family includes the ten genera Acutotyphlops, Afrotyphlops, Austrotyphlops, Cyclotyphlops, Grypotyphlops, Letheobia, Megatyphlops, Ramphotyphlops, Rhinotyphlops and Typhlops. The blind snakes belong to the superfamily of blindsnakes ( Typhlopoidea ). The earlier also provided to the blind snakes genera Anomalepis, Gerrhopilus and Xenotyphlops today represent families of their own, the American Blind Snakes ( Anomalepidae ), the Gerrhopilidae and Xenotyphlopidae. Also a separate family in the superfamily of blindsnakes form the Slim blind snakes ( Leptotyphlopidae ). The classification of blind snakes can not yet be regarded as fully secured, as it is the subject of current scientific studies. The following assignment of types to the corresponding genera follows the Reptile Database.

Genus Acutotyphlops

The genus consists of five species Acutotyphlops banaorum A., A. infralabialis, A. kunuaensis, A. and A. solomonis subocularis. This blind snakes are common in Southeast Asia, with A. banaorum in the Philippines lives while the other four species in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are common.

Genus Austrotyphlops

The genus Austrotyphlops includes the following 39 species occurring in Australia: A. affinis, A. ammodytes, A. aspina, A. australis, A. Batillus, A. bituberculatus, A. broomi, A. centralis, A. chamodracaena, A. diversus, A. endoterus, A. ganei, A. grypus, A. guentheri, A. hamatus, A. howi, A. kimberleyensis, A. leptosomus, A. Ligatus, A. longissimus, A. margaretae, A. micrommus, A. minimus, A. nema, A. nigrescens, A. nigroterminatus, A. pilbarensis, A. pinguis, A. proximus, A. robertsi, A. silvia, A. splendidus, A. tovelli, A. troglodytes, A. unguirostris, A. waitii, A. wiedii, A. and A. yampiensis yirrikalae.

Genus Cyclotyphlops

Cyclotyphlops deharvengi is the only species of the monotypic genus so Cyclotyphlops. The circular head plate of living in Indonesia blind snake, which is surrounded by smaller circular scales, is unique among all the snakes.

Genus Grypotyphlops

The genus Grypotyphlops includes two types: Grypotyphlops acutus occurs in India, Grypotyphlops unilineatus is common in Suriname and French Guiana.

Genus Letheobia

The genus comprises Letheobia 24 species that occur in southern and eastern Africa: L. ataeniata, L. caeca, L. debilis, L. deco pink, erythraea L., L. gracilis, L. graueri, L. JUBANA, L. kibarae, L. largeni, L. lumbriciformis, L. obtusa, L. pallida, L. pauwelsi, L. pembana, L. rufescens, L. Scortecci, L. somalica, L. sudanensis, L. swahilica, L. toritensis, L. uluguruensis, L. and L. unitaeniata wittei.

Genus Megatyphlops

The genus includes four species Megatyphlops M. anomalus, M. brevis, mucruso and M. schlegelii ( Schlegel's Blind Snake ). Like the blind snakes of the genus Letheobia they come only in Africa, more precisely, sub-Saharan.

Worm snakes ( genus Ramphotyphlops )

Also quite large is the genus of worm snakes ( Ramphotyphlops ). The best known representative of this genus is the flowerpot snake ( Ramphotyphlops braminus ). It is about 15 inches long and is native to Southeast Asia. It hunts its prey, small insects, usually in the tangle of roots of different plants and was deported together with various crops and ornamental plants in other lands. Today they are found in the entire South Asian region, on most islands of the Pacific as well as in Central America; so that it has the largest footprint of any extant land snakes. It spreads very quickly as they propagated exclusively by parthenogenesis. The genus of worm snakes include the following 25 species: R. acuticauda, R. albiceps, R. angusticeps, R. becki, R. bicolor, R. braminus, R. cumingi R. depressus, R. erycinus, R. exocoeti, R. flaviventer, R. leucoproctus, R. lineatus, R. lorenzi, R. mansuetus, R. Marxi, R. melanocephalus, R. multilineatus, R. olivaceus, R. ozakiae, R. polygrammicus, R. similis, R. suluensis, R. supranasalis, R. willeyi

Genus Rhinotyphlops

The genus Rhinotyphlops includes the following eleven species: R. boylei ( Boyles blind snake ), R. crossii, R. episcopus, R. feae, R. lalandei ( Dela country blind snake ), R. leucocephalus, R. newtoni, R. praeocularis, R. schinzi ( beak - blind snake ), R. simonii ( Israeli blind snake) and R. stejnegeri.

True blind snakes ( genus Typhlops )

The biggest and most common species of blind snakes are the genuine blind snakes ( Typhlops ). In this genus also includes encountered in Southwest Asia and the southern Balkans worm snake ( Typhlops vermicularis ), also known as stupid eye. The largest species is Typhlops dinga from West Africa. The genus includes the following 123 species: T. agoralionis, T. ahsanai, T. amoipira, T. anchaurus, T. andasibensis, T. annae, T. anousius, T. arator, T. arenarius, T. biminiensis, T. boettgeri, T. bothriorhynchus, T. brongersmianus, T. caecatus, T. calabresii, T. canlaonensis, T. capitulatus, T. cariei, T. castanotus, T. catapontus, T. caymanensis, T. collaris, T. comorensis, conradi T., T. contorhinus, T. costaricensis, T. cuneirostris, T. decorsei, T. diardii ( Diards blind snake), T. disparilis, T. domerguei, T. dominicanus, T. elegans, T. epactius, T. eperopeus, T. etheridgei, T. exiguus, T. filiformis, T. Fletcheri, T. fuscus, T. giadinhensis, T. golyathi, T. gonavensis, T. granti, T. Hectus, T. hypogius, T. hypomethes, hypsobothrius T., T. jamaicensis (Jamaica - blind snake), T. jerdoni, T. khoratensis, T. klemmeri ( Klemmer blind snake), T. koekkoeki, T. koshunensis, T. kraali, T. lankaensis, T. lazelli, T. lehneri ( Lehner's blind snake), T. leucomelas, T. leucostictus, T. longissimus, T. loveridgei, T. lumbricalis ( earthworm - blind snake), T. luzonensis, T. madagascariensis, T. madgemintonae, T. malcolmi, T. manilae, T. manni, T. meszoelyi, T. microcephalus, T. microstomus, T. minuisquamus, T. monastus, T. monensis, T. mucronatus, T. muelleri ( Indonesian blind snake), T. notorachius, T. oatesii Ocular T., T. oxyrhinus, T. pachyrhinus, T. pammeces, T. paucisquamus, T. perimychus, T. platycephalus, T. platyrhynchus, T. porrectus, T. proancylops, T. pusillus, T. rajeryi, T. reticulatus, T. reuteri (Reuters blind snake), T. richardi, T. rostellatus, T. roxaneae, T. ruber, T. ruficaudus, T. satelles, T. dirty?, T. schwartzi, T. siamensis ( Siamese- blind snake), T. socotranus, T. stadelmani, T. sulcatus, T. sylleptor, T. syntherus, T. tasymicris, T. Tenebrarum, T. tenuicollis, T. tenuis, T. tetrathyreus, T. thurstoni, T. titanops, T. trangensis, T. trinitatus, T. tycherus, T. veddae, T. vermicularis ( stupid eye, European Blind snake ), T. violaceus, T. wilsoni, T. and T. yonenagae zenkeri.

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