Joshua's blind snake
| Joshua's blind snake | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Leptotyphlopidae |
| Genus: | Trilepida |
| Species: | T. joshuai
|
| Binomial name | |
| Trilepida joshuai (Dunn, 1944)
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Joshua's blind snake (Trilepida joshuai) is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae. The species is endemic to Colombia.[3][4][2]
Etymology
[edit]The specific name, joshuai, is a reference to Joshua, victor at the Battle of Jericho, in reference to the type locality, Jericó, Antioquia, Colombia.[5]
Geographic range
[edit]T. joshuai is found in the Colombian departments of Antioquia, Caldas, and Valle del Cauca.[2]
Habitat
[edit]The preferred natural habitat of T. joshuai is forest, at altitudes of 1,600–2,200 m (5,200–7,200 ft), but it has also been found in urban areas.[1]
Description
[edit]T. joshuai is black dorsally, and white ventrally. The total length (including tail) of the holotype is 27 cm (11 in).[6]
Behavior
[edit]T. joshuai is terrestrial and fossorial.[1]
Diet
[edit]T. joshuai preys upon insect larvae and termites.[1]
Reproduction
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Arredondo, J.C.; Wallach, V. (2015). "Trilepida joshuai ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T178428A44954468. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T178428A44954468.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Trilepida joshuai at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
- ^ 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).
- ^ "Leptotyphlops ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Leptotyphlops joshuai, p. 136).
- ^ Dunn ER (1944).
Further reading
[edit]- Adalsteinsson SA, Branch WR, Trape S, Vitt LJ, Hedges SB (2009). "Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of snakes of the family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata)". Zootaxa 2244: 1–50. (Tricheilostoma joshuai, new combination).
- Dunn ER (1944). "A Review of the Colombian Snakes of the Families Typhlopidae and Leptotyphlopidae". Caldasia 3 (11): 47–55. (Leptotyphlops joshuai, new species, pp. 53–54, Figures 9–10).
- Hedges SB (2011). "The type species of the threadsnake genus Tricheilostoma Jan revisited (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae)". Zootaxa 3027: 63–64. (Trilepida joshuai, new combination, p. 63).
- Rojas-Morales JA (2012). "Snakes of an urban-rural landscape in the central Andes of Colombia: species composition, distribution, and natural history". Phyllomedusa 11 (2): 135–154.