Gierra's blind snake explained

Gierra's blind snake (Afrotyphlops gierrai), also commonly called the Usambara spotted blind snake and the Usambara spotted worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.^[1] The species is endemic to Tanzania.

Etymology

The specific name, gierrai, is in honor of Mr. A. Gierra, an expert in the languages of North Africa and East Africa, who collected the type specimen.^[2]

Geographic range

A. gierrai is found in the Ukaguru Mountains, the Ulaguru Mountains, and the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of A. gierrai is forest, at altitudes of .

Reproduction

A. gierrai is oviparous.

Further reading

• Barbour T, Loveridge A (1928). "A Comparative Study of the Herpetological Faunae of the Uluguru and Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory with Descriptions of New Species". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 50 (2): 85–265. (Typhlops punctatus gierrai, new taxonomic status, pp. 106–108).
• Broadley DG, Wallach V (2009). "A review of the eastern and southern African blind-snakes (Serpentes: Typhlopidae), excluding Letheobia Cope, with the description of two new genera and a new species". Zootaxa 2255: 1–100. (Afrotyphlops gierrai, new combination, p. 38).
• Laurent RF (1964). "A Revision of the punctatus Group of African Typhlops ". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 130 (6): 387–444. (Typhlops gierrai, p. 417).
• Mocquard F (1897). "Note sur quelques Reptiles de Tanga, don de M. [=''Monsieur'' ] Gierra ". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 3 (4): 122–123. (Typhlops gierrai, new species). (in French).

Notes and References

1. [:fr:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid, Roy W.]
2. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]