Bailey's blind snake explained

Bailey's blind snake (Trilepida anthracina) is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae.^[1] The species is endemic to Ecuador.

Geographic range

In Ecuador T. anthracina is found in Abituagua, Balzapamba, Baños de Agua Santa, and Zamora.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. anthracina is forest, at altitudes of 1000–.

Description

Large and stout for its genus, T. anthracina may attain a total length (including tail) of 29cm (11inches). Its coloration is uniformly black, both dorsally and ventrally.^[3]

Behavior

T. anthracina is fossorial and sometimes diurnal.

Diet

T. anthracina preys upon termites and insect larvae.

Reproduction

T. anthracina is oviparous.^[2]

Further reading

• 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 anthracinum, new combination).
• Bailey JR (1946). "Leptotyphlops anthracinus, a new blind snake from eastern Ecuador". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (492): 1–5. (Leptotyphlops anthracinus, new species).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Leptotyphlops anthracinus, p. 117).
• Hedges SB (2011). "The type species of the threadsnake genus Tricheilostoma Jan revisited (Squamata, Leptotyphlopidae)". Zootaxa 3027: 63–64. (Trilepida anthracina, new combination, p. 63).

Notes and References

1. [:fr:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]
2. www.reptile-database.org.
3. [:fr:Joseph Randle Bailey|Bailey]