''Liotyphlops wilderi'', also known as Wilder's blind snake, is a
species
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. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Anomalepididae
The Anomalepididae are a Family (biology), family of nonvenomous snakes, native to Central and South America. They are similar to Typhlopidae, except that some species possess a single tooth in the lower jaw. Currently, four Genus, genera and 15 ...
.
[ 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. (series). (volume).] The species is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.[
]
Etymology
The specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''wilderi'', is in honor of Burt Green Wilder, who was an American comparative anatomist and naturalist.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Liotyphlops wilderi'', p. 285).]
Geographic range
''L. wilderi'' is found in southeastern Brazil, in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
.[
]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s of ''L. wilderi'' are forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
and savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
.
Reproduction
''L. wilderi'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Dixon JR, Kofron CP (1983). "The Central and South American Anomalepid Snakes of the Genus ''Liotyphlops'' ". ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 4 (2): 241–264.
* Garman S (1883). "On certain Reptiles from Brazil and Florida". ''Science Observer, Boston'' 4 (5/6): 47–48. (''Typhlops wilderi'', new species, p. 48).
*Hammar AG (1908). "Note on the Type Specimen of a Blind Snake ''Helminthophis wilderi'' (Garman), from Brazil". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Eighth Series'' 1: 334–335. (''Helminthophis wilderi'', new combination, pp. 334–335, Figures a-c).
* Vanzolini PE (1948). "''Notas sóbre os ofídios e lagartos da cachoeira de ema, no município de Pirassununga, estado de São Paulo'' ". ''Revista Brasileira de Biologia, Rio de Janeiro'' 8: 377–400. (''Liotyphlops wilderi'', new combination, p. 380. (in Portuguese).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3019528
Anomalepididae
Snakes of Brazil
Endemic reptiles of Brazil
Reptiles described in 1883
Taxa named by Samuel Garman