Moroccan worm lizard explained

The Moroccan worm lizard (Blanus mettetali) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Blanidae. The species is endemic to Morocco.^[1]

Etymology

The specific name, mettetali, is in honor of a Mr. Mettetal who was head of the Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Morocco.^[2]

Habitat

The natural habitats of B. mettetali are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, arable land, and pastureland.

Conservation status

B. mettetali is threatened by habitat loss.

Further reading

• Bons, Jacques (1963). "Notes sur Blanus cinereus (Vandelli), description d'une sous-espèce Marocaine: Blanus cinereus mettetali ssp. nov." Bulletin de la Société des Sciences naturelles et physiques du Maroc (1-2): 95–107. (in French).

Phylogeographical patterns

• Albert EM, Zardoya R, García-París M . Phylogeographical and speciation patterns in subterranean worm lizards of the genus Blanus (Amphisbaenia: Blanidae). Molecular Ecology. 16. 7. 2007. 1519–1531. 0962-1083. 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03248.x. 17391273. 26071914.
• Vaconcelos. Raquel. Harris. D. James. Carretero. Miguel. Phylogeography of the genus Blanus (worm lizards) in Iberia and Morocco based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers — preliminary analysis. Amphibia-Reptilia. 27. 3. 2006. 339–346. 0173-5373. 10.1163/156853806778190033. free.

Notes and References

1. Busack. Stephen D.. Biochemical and Morphological Differentiation in Spanish and Moroccan Populations of Blanus and the Description of a New Species from Northern Morocco (Reptilia, Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae). Copeia. 1988. 1988. 1. 101–109. 10.2307/1445928. 1445928.
2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. xiii + 296 pp. . (Blanus mettetali, p. 177).