The Turkish worm lizard (''Blanus strauchi'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
amphisbaenian
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Blanidae
''Blanus'' is a genus of amphisbaenians found in the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa. Like other amphisbaenians, ''Blanus'' species are specialized for a subterranean existence, with long, slender bodies, reduced limbs, and rudim ...
. The species is native to
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. There are two recognized
subspecies.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''strauchi'', is in honor of Russian herpetologist
Alexander Strauch
Alexander Strauch (1 March 1832, in Saint Petersburg – 14 August 1893, in Wiesbaden, Germany) was a Russian naturalist, most notably a herpetologist.
In 1861 he started working as a curator of the zoological museum at the Imperial Academy of Sci ...
.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Blanus strauchi'', p. 256).]
Geographic range
''B. strauchi'' is found in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Syria, and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''B. strauchi'' is
shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to .
Reproduction
''B. strauchi'' is
oviparous.
[
]
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.
*''Blanus strauchi bedriagae
''Blanus'' is a genus of amphisbaenians found in the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa. Like other amphisbaenians, ''Blanus'' species are specialized for a subterranean existence, with long, slender bodies, reduced limbs, and rudim ...
''
*''Blanus strauchi strauchi''
''Nota bene
(, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well".
It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature
and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...
'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
other than ''Blanus''.
References
Further reading
* Bedriaga J (1884). "Amphisbaena cinerea '' Vand. und'' A. Strauchi ''v. Bedr., Erster Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Doppelschleichen'' ". ''Archiv für Naturgeschichte'' 50 (1): 23–41. (''Amphisbaena strauchi'', new species, pp. 35–41, Figures 4–6). (in German).
*Bedriaga J (1884). "''Nachträgliche Bemerkung über'' Amphisbaena Strauchi ''v. Bedr.''" ''Zoologischer Anzeiger'' 7: 346. (in German).
* Boulenger GA (1884). "Descriptions of new Species of Reptiles in the British Museum.—Part II." ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fifth Series'' 13: 396–398. (''Blanus bedriagae'', new species, p. 396).
* Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). ''The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia''. (Monographs of the ''Societas Herpetologica Italica''). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. .
Blanus
Taxa named by Jacques von Bedriaga
Reptiles described in 1884
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