Ramphotyphlops braminus Broadley & Wallach 2009
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Fossorial
Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable to increase of 25%
Global Long Term Trend: Increase of >25%
Comments: Extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size have increased as a result of inadvertent introductions around the world.
In Egypt it is found in cultivations and gardens in urban areas. Prefers muddy soils in damp humid areas.
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Degree of Threat: Low
Comments: No major threats are known.
Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
Ramphotyphlops braminus is a harmless blind snake species found mostly in Africa and Asia, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. Completely fossorial, they are often mistaken for earthworms, except that they are not segmented. The specific name is a Latinized form of the word Brahmin, which is a caste among Hindus. No subspecies are currently recognized.[3]
Contents
Description[edit]
Adults are small and thin. Averaging between 6.35-16.5 cm (2½ to 6½ inches) in length. The head and tail-tip look much the same, with no narrowing of the neck. The rudimentary eyes appear only as a pair of small dots under the head scales. The tip of the tail ends with a tiny pointed spur. The head scales are small and resemble those on the body. There are 20 rows of dorsal scales along the entire body. The coloration of the adults varies from shiny silver gray to charcoal gray or purple. The venter is grayish to brown. Juveniles are colored much the same as the adults.[4]
The tiny eyes are covered with translucent scales, rendering these snakes almost entirely blind. The eyes cannot form images, but are still capable of registering light intensity.
Common names[edit]
Ramphotyphlops braminus is variously known as brahminy blind snake (or brahminy blindsnake),[3] flowerpot snake, common blind snake, island blind snake, and Hawaiian blind snake. The moniker "flowerpot snake" derives from the snake's incidental introduction to various parts of the world through the plant trade.
Geographic range[edit]
Found in Africa and Asia, but being an introduced species in many parts of the world, it is also found in Australia and the Americas. It is common throughout most of Florida [1]
In Africa, it has been reported in Senegal, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Somalia, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa (an isolated colony in Cape Town, also about 8 have been found in Lephalale, Limpopo Province at the Medupi Power Station during construction), Madagascar, the Comoro Islands, Mauritius, the Mascarene Islands and the Seychelles.
In Asia it occurs in Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, mainland India, the Maldives, the Lakshadweep Islands, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawashima and Miyakoshima, Taiwan, Hong Kong, southern China, Hainan, the Malay Peninsula, the Maritime Southeast Asia including Singapore, Sumatra and nearby islands (the Riao Archipelago, Bangka, Billiton and Nias), Borneo, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Butung, Salajar, Ternate, Halmahera, Buru, Ceram, Ambon, Saparua, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Madura, Flores, Lomblen, Sumba, Timor, Kai Island, the Aru Islands (requires confirmation according to McDowell, 1974:25), New Guinea (Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea), New Britain and Bougainville Island. In Australia in the Northern Territory near Darwin and the northern tip of Queensland). It occurs in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, on Christmas Island, Palau, Guam, and Saipan. The Americas in the United States (California, Massachusetts, Florida, The Hawaiian Islands, Texas and Louisiana), western and southern Mexico and Guatemala and in the Cayman Islands. The vertical distribution is from sea level to 1,200 m in Sri Lanka and up to 1,500 m in Guatemala. The type locality given is "Vizagapatam" [India].[1]
This is also the only snake reported from Lakshadweep Islands.[5]
Habitat[edit]
Usually occur in urban and agricultural areas.[4] These snakes live underground in ant and termite nests. They are also found under logs, moist leaves and humus in wet forest, dry jungle and even city gardens. The distribution and survival of this group of snakes directly reflects soil humidity and temperature.[5]
Feeding[edit]
Their diet consists of the larvae, eggs, and pupae of ants and termites.[4]
Reproduction[edit]
This species is parthenogenetic and all specimens collected so far have been female. They lay eggs or may bear live young. Up to eight offspring are produced: all female and all genetically identical.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 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).
- ^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ a b c "Ramphotyphlops braminus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d Brahminy Blind Snake at the Florida State Museum of Natural History. Accessed 30 August 2007.
- ^ a b Whitaker R. 1978. Common Indian Snakes: A Field Guide. Chennai: Macmillan India Limited. 154 pp. ISBN 978-0333901984.
Further reading[edit]
- Annandale N. 1906. Notes on the fauna of a desert tract in southern India. Part I. Batrachians and reptiles, with remarks on the reptiles of the desert region of the North-West Frontier. Mem. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, Calcutta 1: 183-202.
- Boulenger GA. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families Typhlopidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Typhlops braminus, pp. 16-17).
- Daudin FM. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles. Tome septième [Volume 7]. Paris: F. Dufart. 436 pp.
- Hedges SB, Marion AB, Lipp KM, Marin J, Vidal N. 2014. A taxonomic framework for typhlopid snakes from the Caribbean and other regions (Reptilia, Squamata). Caribbean Herpetology 49: 1-61. (Indotyphlops braminus, new combination).
- Jones GS, Thomas LA, Wong K. 1995. "Ramphotyphlops braminus ". Herpetological Review 26 (4):210-211.
- Kelaart EF. 1854. Catalogue of reptiles collected in Ceylon. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Second Series 13: 137-140.
- Kraus F, Carvalho D. 2001. The Risk to Hawai'i from Snakes. Pacific Science 55 (4): 409-417. PDF at University of Hawai'i press. Accessed 20 April 2008.
- Nussbaum RA. 1980. The brahminy blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) in the Seychelles Archipelago: Distribution, variation, and further evidence for parthenogenesis. Herpetologica 36 (3): 215-221.
- Oliver JA, Shaw CE. 1953. The amphibians and reptiles of the Hawaiian Islands. Zoologica, New York 38 (5): 65-95.
- O'Shea M, Halliday T. 2002. Smithsonian Handbooks: Reptiles and Amphibians. London: DK Publishing. 256 pp. ISBN 0-7894-9393-4.
- Ota H, Hikida T, Matsui M, Mori A, Wynn AH. 1991. Morphological variation, karyotype and reproduction of the parthenogenetic blind snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus, from the insular region of East Asia and Saipan. Amphibia-Reptilia 12: 181-193.
- Owen R, Bowman DT Jr, Johnson SA. 1998. "Geographic Distribution. Ramphotyphlops braminus ". Herpetological Review 29 (2): 115.
- Palmer, DD and RN Fisher. 2010. "Geographic Distribution. Ramphotyphlops braminus ". Herpetological Review 41 (4): 518.
- Thomas LA. 1997. "Geographic Distribution. Ramphotyphlops braminus ". Herpetological Review 28 (2): 98.
- Vijayakumar SP, David P. 2006. Taxonomy, Natural History, And Distribution Of The Snakes Of The Nicobar Islands (INDIA), Based On New Materials And With An Emphasis On Endemic Species. Russian Journal of Herpetology 13 (1): 11 – 40.
- Wall F. 1919. Notes on a collection of Snakes made in the Nilgiri Hills and the adjacent Wynaad. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 26: 552-584.
- Wallach V. 1999. "Geographic distribution: Ramphotyphlops braminus ". Herpetological Review 30 (4): 236.
- Wynn AH, Cole CJ, Gardner AL. 1987. "Apparent Triploidy in the Unisexual Brahminy Blind Snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus ". American Museum Novitates 2868: 1-7.
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Comments: Eats termites, insect larvae, and other soft-bodied insects (McKeown 1978).
Comments: Included in genus Typhlops prior to 1966. Placed in genus Typhlina by some authors after 1966; generic name Typhlina has been officially suppressed by the ICZN.
Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.
Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300
Comments: This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations).
Smooth scales.Tiny scale covered eye visible as a dot. Head width same as body. Often mistaken for a worm