''Argyrophis oatesii'', also known
commonly as the Andaman Island worm snake or Oates'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 harmless
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 ...
Typhlopidae
The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel-like burrowing str ...
. 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 the
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...
. There are no
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
that are recognized as being valid.
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 ...
, ''oatesii'', is in honor of English
ornithologist
Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
Eugene William Oates
Eugene William Oates (31 December 184516 November 1911) was an English nation, English natural history, naturalist and a civil engineer who worked on road projects in Burma.
Oates was born in Sicily and educated in Bath, England. For a time he a ...
.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, ]Grayson M
Grayson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Grayson, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan
United States
* Grayson, California
* Grayson, Georgia
** Grayson High School
* Grayson, Kentucky
* Grayson, Louisiana
* Gray ...
(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 26 pp. . (''Typhlops oatesii'', p. 193).
Geographic range
Until recently, ''A. oatesii'' was only known from the
type locality, which is "Table Island,
Cocos Group,
Andamans
The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...
" in the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region.
Many South Asian and Southe ...
. Table Island belongs to
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
. However, Murthy and Chakrapany (1983), reported finding a second specimen from the island of Mayabunder, just off the coast of
Middle Andaman Island
Middle Andaman Island is an island of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Geography
The island belongs to the Great Andam ...
, which belongs to
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Description
Boulenger (1893) described ''A. oatesii'' as follows:
"24 scales round the body. Yellowish, with confluent brown spots corresponding to the series of scales and forming longitudinal lines which are broader than the interspaces. Total length
ncluding tail200 millim.
.9 inches"
Reproduction
''Argyrophis oatesii'' 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
* Boulenger GA (1890). ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia''. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (''Typhlops oatesii'', new species, p. 238).
*Boulenger GA (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families Typhlopidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (''Typhlops oatesii'', pp. 23–24 + Plate II, figures 3a, 3b, 3c).
* Hedges SB, Marion AB, Lipp KM, Marin J, Vidal N (2014). "A taxonomic framework for typhlopid snakes from the Caribbean and other regions (Reptilia, Squamata)". ''Caribbean Herpetology'' (49): 1–61. (''Asiatyphlops oatesii'', new combination).
*Murthy TSN, Chakrapany S (1983). "Rediscovery of the blind snake ''Typhlops oatesii'' in Andamans, India". ''The Snake'' 15 (1): 48–49, 2 figures.
* Pyron RA, Wallach V (2014). "Systematics of the blindsnakes (Serpentes: Scolecophidea: Typhlopoidea) based on molecular and morphological evidence". ''Zootaxa'' 3829 (1): 001–081. (''Argyrophis oatesii'', new combination).
* Smith MA (1943). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (''Typhlops oatesii'', p. 53).
oatesii
Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger
Reptiles described in 1890
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