Typhlops fornasinii

Typhlops fornasinii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Typhlops
Species: T. fornasinii
Binomial name
Typhlops fornasinii
Bianconi, 1847
Synonyms

Typhlops fornasinii, commonly known as Fornasini's blind snake, is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family.[2][3] It is endemic to southern Africa.[4]

Etymology

The specific name, fornasinii, is in honor of Carlo Antonio Fornasini[5] (1802-?), merchant and amateur botanist from Bologna, Italy, who collected the type specimen in Mozambique. He should not be confused with Carlo Fornasini (1854-1931), Italian paleontologist and politician.

Geographic range

Fornasini's blind snake has been found in southern Mozambique, South Africa (Zululand), and southeastern Zimbabwe.[4]

Description

Typhlops fornasinii is completely gray or black, except for some yellowish on the throat and the ventral surface of the tail. Adults may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of 18 cm (7 inches). The scales are arranged in 22-27 rows around the body. There are fewer than 300 scales in the vertebral row.[4]

Snout very prominent, rounded, somewhat flattened, with trilobate horizontal outline. Rostral large, about half the width of the head, portion visible from above almost as long as broad. Nostrils located ventrally. Nasal incompletely divided. Nasal cleft proceeding from the first upper labial. Scales on upper surface of head enlarged. A preocular present, in contact with the second upper labial. Preocular slightly narrower than the nasal or the ocular. Eyes barely distinguishable. Four upper labials. Diameter of body 23 to 30 times in the total length. Tail short, slightly broader than long, ending in a spine.[6]

Habitat

This very small snake prefers grasslands and coastal bush.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Afrotyphlops fornasinii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ↑ "Typhlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  3. ↑ McDiarmid, Roy W.; Campbell, Jonathan A.; Touré, T'Shaka A. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Typhlops fornasinii, p. 54 + Plate 40).
  5. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Typhlops fornasinii, p. 92).
  6. ↑ 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 fornasinii, pp. 38-39).

Further reading


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