Christmas Island blind snake

The Christmas Island blind snake (Ramphotyphlops exocoeti) is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Christmas Island. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.[4]

Christmas Island blind snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Ramphotyphlops
Species:
R. exocoeti
Binomial name
Ramphotyphlops exocoeti
(Boulenger, 1887)
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Typhlops exocoeti
    Boulenger In Günther, 1887
  • Typhlops exocoeti
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Typhlops capensis
    Rendahl, 1918
  • Typhlops exocoeti
    — Hahn, 1980
  • Ramphotyphlops exocoeti
    — Cogger, Sadlier & Cameron, 1983

Etymology

The specific name, exocoeti, which means "flying fish", is in honor of the officers of HMS Flying Fish, who collected the holotype.[5]

Geographic range

R. exocoeti is only found on Christmas Island (Australia). The type locality given is "Christmas Island, Indian Ocean".[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of R. exocoeti is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 300 m (980 ft).[1]

Description

R. exocoeti may attain a total length of 35 cm (14 in), which includes a tail 8 cm (3.1 in) long.[6]

Behavior

R. exocoeti is terrestrial and fossorial.[1]

Reproduction

R. exocoeti is oviparous.[3]

Conservation status

The species R. exocoeti is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List with the following criteria: D2 (v2.3, 1994).[1] This means that it is not Critically Endangered, but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future. This is because the population is very small and characterized by an acute restriction in its area of occupancy. It is therefore prone to the effects of human activities (or stochastic events, the impact of which is increased by human activities) within a very short period of time in an unforeseeable future. Therefore, it is possible that this species may become Critically Endangered or even Extinct within a very short period of time.

See also

References
  1. Cogger, H.; Mitchell, N.M.; Woinarski, J.; Ellis, R. (2017). "Ramphotyphlops exocoeti ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T19107A83771020. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T19107A83771020.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. 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).
  3. Species Rhamphotyphlops exocoeti at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. "Ramphotyphlops exocoeti ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  5. 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. (Ramphotyphlops exocoeti, p. 87).
  6. Boulenger GA (1893).

Further reading
  • Boulenger GA (1887). "III. Reptiles". pp. 516–517. In: Günther A (1887). "Report on a Zoological Collection made by the Officers of H.M.S. 'Flying Fish' at Christmas Island, Indian Ocean". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1887: 507-526 + Plates XLI-XLIV. (Typhlops exocœti, new species, p. 517).
  • Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families Typhlopidae .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Typhlops exocoeti, p. 36 + Plate III, figures 2a–2c).
  • Gibson-Hill CA (1940). "The Terrestrial Reptiles [of Christmas Island]". Bulletin of the Raffles Museum (18): 81–86. (Typhlops exocoeti).



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