Scolecophidia
Scolecophidia | |
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Brahminy blind snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus |
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Scolecophidia
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- Common names: blind snakes, thread snakes.[2]
The Scolecophidia are an infraorder[2] of snakes. They range in length from 10 to 100 cm (3.9 to 39.4 in). All are fossorial (adapted for burrowing).[3] There are five families and 15 genera recognized,[2][4][5]
Families
Family[2] | Authority[2] | Genera[2] | Common name[2] | Geographic range[1] |
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Anomalepididae | Taylor, 1939 | 4 | primitive blind snakes | Southern Central America and South America |
Gerrhopilidae | Vidal, Wynn, Donnellan & Hedges, 2010[6] | 2 | blind snakes | India, South-east Asia, Indonesia, Philippines and New Guinea[7] |
Leptotyphlopidae | Stejneger, 1892 | 2 | slender blind snakes or threadsnakes | Africa, western Asia and the Americas |
Typhlopidae | Merrem, 1820 | 6 | long-tailed blind snakes | Most tropical and many subtropical regions all over the world |
Xenotyphlopidae | Vidal, Vences, Branch & Hedges, 2010[6] | 1 | blind snakes | Madagascar |
Biogeographic history
Scolecophidians are believed to have originated on Gondwana, with anomalepidids and leptotyphlopids evolving in west Gondwana (South America and Africa) and typhlopids, gerrhopilids and xenotyphlopids on east Gondwana, initially on the combined India/Madagascar land mass, during the Mesozoic.[6] Typhlopids then dispersed to Africa and Eurasia. South American typhlopids apparently evolved from African typhlopids that rafted across the Atlantic about 60 million years ago; they in turn dispersed to the Caribbean about 33 million years ago.[6] Similarly, typhlopids apparently reached Australia from Southeast Asia or Indonesia about 28 million years ago.[6]
See also
- Alethinophidia, all other snakes
- List of snakes, overview of all snake genera
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Scolecophidia at Palaeos. Accessed 21 December 2013.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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References
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