Typhlops Oppel, 1811

Broadley, Donald G. & Wallach, Van, 2009, 2255, Zootaxa 2255, pp. 1-100 : 22-23

Typhlops Oppel, 1811

Typical blind-snakes

Typhlopes Schneider, 1801: 339. (unavailable vernacular name)

Typhlops Oppel, 1811a: 303 . (nomen nudum)

Typhlops Oppel, 1811b: 380 . Type species: Anguis lumbricalis Linnaeus, 1758 [= Typhlops lumbricalis (Linnaeus) ] by subsequent designation of Fitzinger, 1843: 24; Loveridge, 1957b: 239 (part); Roux-Estève, 1974: 26; Hahn, 1980: 49; McDiarmid et al., 1999: 88.

Gerrhopilus Fitzinger, 1843: 24 . Type species: Typhlops ater Schlegel, 1839 in 1837–1844, by original designation.

Anilios Gray, 1845: 135 . Type species: Anilios leachii Gray, 1845 [= Typhlops lumbricalis (Linnaeus, 1758) ], by subsequent designation of Loveridge, 1957b: 240.

Argyrophis Gray, 1845: 136 . Type species: Argyrophis bicolor Gray, 1845 [= Typhlops diardii Schlegel, 1839 in 1837– 1844, by subsequent designation of M. Smith, 1943: 43.

Meditoria Gray, 1845: 139 . Type species: Meditoria nasuta Gray, 1845 [= Anguis jamaicensis Shaw, 1802 ], by monotypy.

Diagnosis. —Cosmopolitan genus whose type locality has been restricted to New Providence Island, Bahamas ( Thomas, 1989) and whose range and composition will probably be restricted to the New World and its species when better evidence is available from molecular analyses. Until the work of Robb (1966) and Roux- Estève (1974) all typhlopids were contained in the single genus Typhlops , a testament to the difficulty in discerning relationships among these similar-looking diminutive snakes with scant differences except in scale counts and minor variation of head shields. In the only phylogenetic analysis to date, based solely on morphology, Wallach (1998b) demonstrated that the genus was not monophyletic but consisted of a number of lineages. Certain easily recognizable groups have been named or separated ( Acutotyphlops Wallach, 1995 , Austrotyphlops Wallach, 2006 (= Anilios fide J. Boundy , pers. comm.), Cathetorhinus by Wallach & Pauwels, 2008, Cyclotyphlops Bosch & Ineich, 1994 , Grypotyphlops by Wallach, 2003, Letheobia by Broadley & Wallach, 2007b, Ramphotyphlops by Robb, 1966, Rhinotyphlops by Roux-Estève, 1974, and Xenotyphlops Wallach & Ineich, 1996 ) but the largest assemblage still remains under the name of Typhlops , occurring throughout the Americas but also in northern Africa, southeastern Europe, Madagascar, southern and southeastern Asia, and the East Indies. New World Typhlops , comprising approximately 55 species in three species groups ( lumbricalis , reticulatus, and tenuis groups fide Wallach, 1998b ), are characterized by a combination of the following characters (although a synapomorphy of the lumbricalis group is a deeply concave posterior nasal border): T-III supralabial imbrication pattern, nasal shield with a concave posterior border, nostrils directed laterally, inferior nasal suture contacting second supralabial, 1–2 postoculars, narrow to moderate dorsal rostral (less than 1/2 interocular head width), poorly developed eye or eyespot, and dorsum pigmented. Old World “ Typhlops ,” on the other hand, consist of more than 90 species currently allocated to no fewer than nine species groups ( ater , decorsei, diardii , koekkoeki, leucostictus , madagascariensis, porrectus, ruficaudus, and vermicularis groups fide Wallach, 1998b ), all of which may eventually prove to represent separate genera. African members currently allocated to Typhlops have either a T-III or T-V supralabial pattern, 20–24 midbody scale rows, moderate length/width ratio (20–55), and small size (maximum length = 150–300 mm).

Distribution.— At the present time, Latin America, northern Africa, extreme southeastern Europe, Madagascar and islands of the Indian Ocean, southwestern, southern and southeastern Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomons.

Content.— Currently approximately 155 species. In addition to the three African species treated below, the following four extralimital species are thought to be referrable to Typhlops as now conceived:

1. Typhlops (Typhlops) coecatus Jan, 1863 , Elenco Sist. Ofidi: 10. Type locality: “Costa d’oro” [= Ghana], holotype NMBA 310 .

= Typhlops coecatus Jan

2. Typhlops etheridgei Wallach, 2003 , Hamadryad , 27(1): 109, fig. 1. Type locality: “Between Atar (20°31’N, 13°03’W) and Choûm (21°20’N, 12°59’W)…western Adrar Region, west-central Mauritania, elevation ca. 200 m,” holotype MHNG 1326.62 (formerly EK 11443 ) , collected by J. Garzoni, 1967.

= Typhlops etheridgei Wallach

3. Typhlops socotranus Boulenger, 1889 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (6) 4(23): 362. Type locality: “Socotra,” [= Sokotra Island , Yemen], syntypes BMNH 1946.1.11.72–73 (formerly BMNH 1881.3.30.16–17), collected by J. B. Balfour.

= Typhlops socotranus Boulenger

4. Typhlops zenkeri Sternfeld, 1908d , S-ber. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin, 1908(4): 92. Type locality: “ Kribi (Kamerun)” [= Cameroon], holotype ZMB 11091, collected by H. Morgen.

= Typhlops zenkeri Sternfeld