:''Common names: (none).''
''Typhlophis'' is a
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
created for the
blind snake
The Scolecophidia, commonly known as blind snakes or thread snakes, are an infraorder of snakes. They range in length from . All are fossorial (adapted for burrowing). Five families and 39 genera are recognized. The Scolecophidia infraorder is m ...
species
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 s ...
, ''Typhlophis squamosus'', found along the Atlantic coast of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
from the
Guianas to
Pará
Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...
in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, as well as in
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
. No
subspecies are currently recognized.
Geographic range
''Typhlophis squamosus'' is found in the Atlantic coastal lowlands of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
in
Guyana,
Suriname and
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
as far south as the state of
Pará
Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...
in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. It is also found on the island of
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
. The
type locality given is "
Cayenne" (French Guiana).
Description
The head of ''T. squamosus'' is covered with small scales, which are indistinguishable from the body scales.
Etymology
The synonym, ''Typhlophis ayarzaguenai'', was named in honor of Venezuelan herpetologist
José Ayarzagüena.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Typhlophis ayarzaguenai'', p. 13).]
References
External links
*
Further reading
*
Boulenger GA (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Glauconiidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Genus ''Typhlophis'', p. 57; species ''T. squamosus'', p. 57).
*
Kok, Philippe; Rivas Fuenmayor, Gilson (2008). "''Typhlophis ayarzaguenai'' Señaris, 1998 is a junior synonym of ''Typhlophis squamosus'' (Schlegel, 1839)". ''Reptilia-Amphibia'' 29 (4): 555-558.
*
Schlegel H (1839). ''Abbildungen neuer oder unvollständig bekannter AMPHIBIEN, nach der Natur oder dem Leben entworfen, herausgegeben und mit einem erläuternden Texte begleitet.'' Düsseldorf: Arnz & Comp. xiv + 141 pp. (''Typhlops squamosus'', new species, p. 36). (in German).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1005820
Anomalepididae
Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger
Monotypic snake genera