Typhlops hectus

Typhlops hectus (common names: Tiburon Peninsula blind snake,[1] Thomas's worm snake [3]) is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.[4][5][3] It is endemic to southwestern Haiti and is known from the Tiburon Peninsula and the island of Grand Cayemite, with an isolated record from Gonâve Island.[1] Specimens of uncertain status are known further northeast, in an area extending into the Dominican Republic; whether these belong to Typhlops hectus or an undescribed species is pending further investigations.[6]

Tiburon Peninsula Blindsnake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Typhlops
Species:
T. hectus
Binomial name
Typhlops hectus
Thomas, 1974[2]

Description

The total length in adults varies between 135–218 mm (5.3–8.6 in).[6] The tail is short: the 192 mm long holotype had a 5 mm tail. There are 284–328 mid-dorsal scales. Coloration varies from pale gray to tan. In some specimens, the coloration is bicolor with a sharp mid-lateral transition just one or two scale rows wide, from the pigmented dorsum to the unpigmented venter. In other specimens, the transition occurs closer to the venter, with some specimens being almost entirely pigmented.[2]

Typhlops hectus is oviparous.[3]

Habitat and conservation

Typhlops hectus is a fossorial species that occurs in a range of habitats including various types of forests (pine forests, and semi-deciduous and broad-leaved evergreen rainforests), semi-xeric scrub woods, edges of cane fields, and open fields and yards. It occurs from sea level to about 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level.[1]

Typhlops hectus is an occasionally encountered species. Its population is considered to be severely fragmented. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by agriculture expansion, charcoal production, and wood harvesting.[1]

References
  1. Landestoy, M.; Hedges, B.; Inchaustegui, S. (2016). "Typhlops hectus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T178705A77339745. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T178705A77339745.en.
  2. Thomas, R. (1974). "A new species of Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) from Hispaniola". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 87: 11–18.
  3. Typhlops hectus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 April 2017.
  4. "Typhlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  5. 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.
  6. Thomas, R.; Hedges, S.B. (2007). "Eleven new species of snakes of the genus Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) from Hispaniola and Cuba" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1400: 1–26. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1400.1.1.
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