Amaral's blind snake explained

Amaral's blind snake (Trilepida koppesi), also known commonly as cobra-cega and cobra-de-chumbinho in Brazilian Portuguese, is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae.^[1] The species is native to South America.

Etymology

The specific name, koppesi, is in honor of S.J. Koppes, who collected the holotype in 1934.^[2]

Description

T. koppesi may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of .

Geographic range

T. koppesi is endemic to Brazil, where it is found in the Distrito Federal and the Brazilian states of Bahia, Goiás, and Mato Grosso.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of T. koppesi are grassland and savanna.

Diet

T. koppesi preys upon ants (larvae, pupae, and adults), termite larvae, and beetles.

Reproduction

T. koppesi is oviparous. Clutch size is five to seven eggs.

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 koppesi, new combination).
• Amaral A (1955). "Contribução ao conhecimento dos ofídios neotrópicos: 14. Descrição de duas espécies de "cobra-cega" (fam. Leptotyphlopidae) [= Contribution to the knowledge of the neotropical snakes: 14. Description of two species of "blindsnake" (family Leptotyphlopidae)]". Memórias do Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 26: 203–205. (Leptotyphlops koppesi, new species). (in Portuguese).
• Hedges SB (2011). "The type species of the threadsnake genus Tricheilostoma Jan revisited (Squamata, Leptotyphlopidae)". Zootaxa 3027: 63–64. (Trilepida koppesi, new combination, p. 63).
• Passos P, Caramaschi U, Pinto RR (2006). "Redescription of Leptotyphlops koppesi Amaral, 1954, and description of a new species of the Leptotyphlops dulcis group from Central Brazil (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae)". Amphibia-Reptilia 27 (3): 347–357.

Notes and References

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