Guyana blind snake

Guyana Blind Snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Leptotyphlopidae
Genus: Leptotyphlops
Species: L. tenella
Klauber, 1939
Binomial name
Leptotyphlops tenella
Synonyms
  • Stenostoma albifrons - Wagler, 1824
  • Glauconia albifrons - Boulenger, 1893
  • Leptotyphlops albifrons - Amaral, 1929
  • Leptotyphlops albifrons tenella - Roze, 1952
  • Leptotyphlops tenellus — Hahn, 1980
  • Epictia albifrons - Adalsteinsson et al., 2009
  • Epictia tenella - Adalsteinsson et al., 2009

The Guyana Blind Snake (Leptotyphlops tenella) is a species of blind snake found on Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in South America, where it ranges from Guyana south to Brazil and northwestern Peru.

It can reach a length of 170 mm (6-11/16 in) snout-to-vent. It has a medium brown dorsal surface, with a paler ventral surface and a yellow tail. Its head is dark except for a white to yellow spot covering the upper half of its rostral scale.

It is mesophilic. It burrows in damp soil and rotting vegetation, and possibly in ant and termite colonies. It feeds on ants, termites, millipedes, and eggs.

References

  • Schwartz, Albert; Henderson, Robert W. (1991), Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History, University Press of Florida, pp. 621–622, ISBN 978-0-8130-1049-6 
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.