Brahminy Blind Snake

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Brahminy blindsnake

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Ramphotyphlops
Species:	R. braminus

Binomial name

Ramphotyphlops braminus
(Daudin, 1803)

Synonyms

Typhlops braminus
Typhlina braminus

Brahminy Blind Snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus, also known as the Flowerpot Snake, Common Blind Snake, Island Blind Snake, or Hawaiian Blind Snake. The Brahminy Blind Snake is a harmless snake between 2½ to 6½ inches and resembles an earthworm in size and shape. This dark, burrowing serpent is shiny black, brown, or gray with an indistinguishable head and tail. It has extremely tiny, rudimentary eyes, roofed by translucent scales, rendering the reptile almost entirely blind—thus its name, the Brahminy “Blind Snake.” The eyes cannot form images but are sophisticated enough to register light intensity. The Brahminy Blind Snake is interesting in that all members of the species are female and reproduce through an asexual process know as parthenogenesis. They feed on the larvae of ants and termites. They have been introduced to various parts of the world through flowerpots. Named after the Latinized form of the word "Brahmin" = a caste among Hindus.

1 Trivia
2 References
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Trivia

There is a myth that there are no snakes in Hawaii. This is not true because the Brahminy Blind Snake has been living in Hawaii since the 1980s, and is the only snake species that has been introduced to Hawaii.^[1]

[edit] References

^ http://www.explorebiodiversity.com/Hawaii/BiodiversityForgotten/Wildlife/Reptiles/Snakes%20-%20Blind.htm

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Kraus, Fred (State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife), and Domingo Cravalho (State of Hawaii, Department of Agriculture, Plant Quarantine Branch). “The Risk to Hawai`i from Snakes.” Pacific Science (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press) 55, no. 4 (October 2001): 409-417. [Rf. p. 410, “MATERIALS AND METHODS.”]
Oliver, James A., and Charles E. Shaw. "The amphibians and reptiles of the Hawaiian Islands." Zoologica (New York) 38, no. 5 (1953): 65-95.
O'Shea, Mark, and Tim Halliday. Smithsonian Handbooks: Reptiles and Amphibians. DK Publishing, 1 October 2002. [Rf. p. 104, “BRAHMINY BLINDSNAKE.”]
Annandale, Nelson 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. Mem asiatic Soc Bengal Calcutta 1: 183-202
Boulenger, G.A. 1893 Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp.
Daudin 1802 Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles. vol. 7. Paris: Dufart [1802], 436 pp.
Jones, Gwilym S.;Thomas, Leslie A.;Wong, Kevin 1995 Ramphotyphlops braminus Herpetological Review 26 (4): 210-211
Kelaart, EDWARD FRED 1854 Catalogue of reptiles collected in Ceylon. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 13: 137-140
Nussbaum, R.A. 1980 The brahminy blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) in the Seychelles Archipelago: Distribution, variation, and further evidence for parthenogenesis. Herpetologica 36 (3): 215-221
Ota, Hidetoshi;Hikida, Tsutomu;Matsui, Masafumi;Mori, Akira;Wynn, Addison H. 1991 Morphological variation, karyotype and reproduction of the parthenogenetic blind snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus, from the insular region of East Asia and Saipan Amphibia-Reptilia 12: 181-193
Owen, Richard;Bowman, Douglas T., Jr.;Johnson, Steve A. 1998 Geographic Distribution. Ramphotyphlops braminus Herpetological Review 29 (2): 115
Thomas, Leslie A. 1997 Geographic Distribution. Ramphotyphlops braminus Herpetological Review 28 (2): 98
Wallach,V. 1999 Geographic distribution: Ramphotyphlops braminus. Herpetological Review 30 (4): 236
Wynn, AH., C.J. COLE & A.L. GARDNER 1987 Apparent Triploidy in the Unisexual Brahminy Blind Snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus. Am. Mus. Novit. 2868: 1-7