Coffee worm snake

The coffee worm snake (Amerotyphlops tenuis) is a harmless blind snake species found in Mexico and Guatemala.[1][3] No subspecies are currently recognized.[3][4]

Coffee worm snake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Amerotyphlops
Species:	A. tenuis
Binomial name
Amerotyphlops tenuis (Salvin, 1860)
Synonyms[2][3]
Typhlops tenuis Salvin, 1860 Typhlops basimaculatus Cope, 1867 Typhlops perditus W. Peters, 1869 Typhlops praelongus F. Müller, 1885 Typhlops tenuis — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops stadelmani Schmidt, 1936 Typhlops praelongis Taylor, 1939 (ex errore) Typhlops tenuis — Dixon & F.S. Hendricks, 1979 Amerotyphlops tenuis — Hedges et al., 2014

Geographic range

It is found from Mexico (Veracruz) south to Guatemala (Alta and Baja Verapaz).[1][3] Earlier sources also include Honduras[2] whereas recent ones do not,[1][3][5] the Honduran endemic Amerotyphlops stadelmani was formerly included in this species.[6] The type locality given is "Coban [Cobán, Alta Verapaz] in Guatemala".[2][3]

Habitat

The species occurs in moist forests, degraded forests, and agricultural land from sea level to 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. As a fossorial species, it is difficult to find, but it can be locally common.[1]

Conservation status

It is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).[1] Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend is unknown. Year assessed: 2007.[7]

References

1. Lopez-Luna, M.A. (2013). "Amerotyphlops tenuis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T64295A3134462. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T64295A3134462.en.
2. 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. ISBN 978-1-893777-00-2.
3. Amerotyphlops tenuis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 29 January 2017.
4. "Typhlops tenuis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
5. McCranie, James R. (2015). "A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed". Zootaxa. 3931 (3): 352–386. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3931.3.2. PMID 25781832.
6. Amerotyphlops stadelmani at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 1 February 2017.
7. 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1) at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 15 September 2007.

Further reading

• Salvin O (1860). "On the Reptiles of Guatemala". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1860: 451-461. (Typhlops tenuis, new species, p. 454).