Indotyphlops braminus

Indotyphlops braminus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Indotyphlops
Species:	I. braminus
Binomial name
Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803)
Synonyms
Eryx braminus Daudin, 1803 [Tortrix] Russelii Merrem, 1820 Typhlops braminus — Cuvier, 1829 Typhlops Russeli — Schlegel, 1839 Argyrophis truncatus Gray, 1845 Argyrophis Bramicus Gray, 1845 Eryx Bramicus — Gray, 1845 Tortrix Bramicus — Gray, 1845 Onychocephalus Capensis A. Smith, 1846 Ophthalmidium tenue Hallowell, 1861 T[yphlops]. (Typhlops) inconspicuus Jan, 1863 T[yphlops]. (Typhlops) accedens Jan, 1863 T[yphlops]. accedens — Jan & Sordelli, 1864 Typhlops (Typhlops) euproctus Boettger, 1882 Typhlops bramineus A.B. Meyer, 1887 Tortrix russellii — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops russellii — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops braminus — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops accedens — Boulenger, 1893 Typhlops limbrickii Annandale, 1906 Typhlops braminus var. arenicola Annandale, 1906 [Typhlops braminus] var. pallidus Wall, 1909 Typhlops microcephalus F. Werner, 1909 Glauconia braueri Sternfeld, 1910 [Typhlops] braueri — Boulenger, 1910 Typhlopidae braminus — Roux, 1911 Typhlops fletcheri Wall, 1919 Typhlops braminus braminus — Mertens, 1930 Typhlops braminus — Nakamura, 1938 Typhlops pseudosaurus Dryden & Taylor, 1969 Typhlina (?) bramina — McDowell, 1974 Ramphotyphlops braminus — Nussbaum, 1980 Indotyphlops braminus — Hedges et al., 2014

Indotyphlops braminus, commonly known as the brahminy blind snake and other names, is a non-venomous blind snake species, found mostly in Africa and Asia, and has been introduced in many other parts of the world. It is a completely fossorial (i.e., burrowing) reptile, with habits and appearance similar to an earthworm, for which it is often mistaken, although close examination reveals tiny scales and eyes rather than the annular segments characteristic of a true earthworm. The species is parthenogenetic and all known specimens have been female. The specific name is a Latinized form of the word Brahmin. No subspecies are currently recognized as being valid.

Description

I. braminus in Hua Hin, Thailand (top) and East Timor (bottom)

Adults of I. braminus measure 2–4 inches (5.1–10.2 cm) long, uncommonly to 6 inches (15 cm), making it the smallest known snake species. The head and tail are superficially similar as the head and neck are indistinct. Unlike other snakes, the head scales resemble the body scales. The eyes are barely discernible as small dots under the head scales. The tip of the tail has a small, pointed spur. Along the body are fourteen rows of dorsal scales. Coloration ranges from charcoal gray, silver-gray, light yellow-beige, purplish, or infrequently albino, the ventral surface more pale. Coloration of the juvenile form is similar to that of the adult. Behavior ranges from lethargic in appropriate habitat to energetic, quickly seeking the cover of soil or leaf litter to avoid light.

Indotyphlops braminus from Kerala, India

The tiny eyes are covered with translucent scales, rendering this snake almost entirely blind. The eyes cannot form images, but are still capable of registering light intensity.

Common names

I. braminus is variously known as the brahminy blind snake, flowerpot snake, common blind snake, island blind snake, teliya 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. "Kurudi" is the common Malayalam term which refers to I. braminus. "Sirupaambu" is the common Tamil term which refers to I. braminus.

Distribution

Most likely originally native to Africa and Asia, I. braminus is an introduced species in many parts of the world, including Australia, the Americas, and Oceania.

The vertical distribution is from sea level to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) in Sri Lanka and up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in Guatemala. The type locality given is "Vishakhapatam" [India].

Native range

In Africa, I. braminus has been reported in Uganda, DRC, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa (an isolated colony in Cape Town and Natal Midlands; about eight have been found in Lephalale, Limpopo Province at the Medupi Power Station during construction), Madagascar (Nossi Be), the Comoro Islands, Mauritius, the Mascarene Islands and the Seychelles. It has also been found in Libya.

In Asia, it occurs in the Arabian Peninsula, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal, mainland India (as well as the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands, and the Lakshadweep Islands, where it is the only snake reported), the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Singapore, the Malay Peninsula, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, southern China (including Hainan), Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan (in the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawashima and Miyakoshima).

In Maritime Southeast Asia, it occurs on Sumatra and nearby islands (the Riau Archipelago, Bangka, Belitung and Nias), Borneo, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Java, Bali, Flores, East Timor, Kai Island, the Aru Islands, New Guinea (Western Papua and Papua New Guinea), New Britain, and Bougainville Island.

It also occurs in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and on Christmas Island.

Introduced range

In Australia, I. braminus occurs in the Northern Territory near Darwin, and in parts of Queensland.

In Oceania, it occurs on Papua New Guinea, Palau, Guam, Fiji, Saipan, the Hawaiian Islands and Tahiti in French Polynesia.

In the Americas, it occurs in the United States (California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Arizona, Hawaii and Texas), western and southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Colombia, Barbados and on the Cayman Islands, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands. It has also been spotted in the Okanagan in B.C., Canada.

In Europe, it has been found in Spain (in the Canary Islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria), in Italy (on the island of Ischia), and in Malta; it is believed to have been introduced in soil imported with potted plants, and has been labeled potentially invasive to native fauna.

Habitat

Usually, the brahminy blind snake occurs in urban and agricultural areas. This species of snake lives underground in ant and termite nests. It is also found under logs, moist leaves, stones and humus in wet forest, dry jungle, abandoned buildings, and even city gardens. The distribution and survival of this group of blind snakes directly reflect soil humidity and temperature.

Feeding

The diet of I. braminus consists of the larvae, eggs, and pupae of ants and termites.

Reproduction

I. braminus is parthenogenetic, and all specimens collected so far have been female. It lays eggs or may bear live young. Up to eight offspring are produced, all female and genetically identical. They are triploid, and it has been proposed that the species be transferred to a new genus as Virgotyphlops braminus because of its obligate parthenogenetic nature.

See also

• Smallest organisms

Further reading

• 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". Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of 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". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Second Series 13: 137–140.
• Kraus F, Carvalho D (2001). "The Risk to Hawai'i from Snakes". Pacific Science 55 (4): 409–417. PDF Archived 2002-02-11 at the Wayback Machine 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.
• Mizuno T, Kojima Y (2015). "A blindsnake that decapitates its termite prey". Journal of Zoology 297 (3): 220–224.
• Owen R, Bowman DT Jr, Johnson SA (1998). "Geographic Distribution. Ramphotyphlops braminus ". Herpetological Review 29 (2): 115.
• Palmer DD, Fisher RN (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". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 26: 552–584.
• Wallach V (1999). "Geographic distribution: Ramphotyphlops braminus ". Herpetological Review 30 (4): 236.

External links

• Indotyphlops braminus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 30 August 2007.
• Ramphotyphlops braminus at Snakes of Japan. Accessed 30 August 2007.
• Ramphotyphlops braminus at WildHerps.com. Accessed 30 August 2007.
• R. braminus at ThailandSnakes.com. Accessed 22 December 2014.
• Indotyphlops braminus at the Tucson Herpetological Society.