''Epacrophis boulengeri'', also known
commonly as the Manda flesh-pink blind snake and the Lamu worm snake, 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 harmless
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Leptotyphlopidae
The Leptotyphlopidae (commonly called slender blind snakes or thread snakes) are a family of snakes found in North America, South America, Africa and Asia. All are fossorial and adapted to burrowing, feeding on ants and termites. Two subfamilies ...
.
[ McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (series). (volume).] The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Kenya
)
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''boulengeri'', is in honor of Belgian-British herpetologist
George Albert Boulenger
George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...
.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Leptotyphlops boulengeri'', p. 34).]
Geographic range
''E. boulengeri'' is found on
Lamu Island
Lamu Island is a port, city, and island just off the shore of Kenya in the Indian Ocean approximately 150 miles from Mombasa. It is a part of the East African country of Kenya. Lamu was founded in the 12th Century. Lamu is one of the longest esta ...
and
Manda Island
Manda is an island of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya, known for the prosperous 9th century ports of Takwa and Manda town. The island is now linked by ferry to Lamu and is home to Manda Airport, while Manda Toto island lies to its west. The isla ...
.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of ''E. boulengeri'' is coastal shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
, at altitudes from sea level to .
Reproduction
''E. boulengeri'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
.[
]
References
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. (''Epacrophis boulengeri'', new combination, p. 27).
* Boettger O (1913). "''Reptilien und Amphibien von Madagascar, den Inseln und dem Festland Ostafrikas'' ". pp. 269–375 + Plates 23–30. ''In'': Voeltzkow A (1913). "''Reise in Ostafrika in den Jahren 1903-1905, mit Mitteln der Hermann und Elise geb. Heckmann Wentzel-Stiftung ausgeführt'' ". ''Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse'' 3 (4): 269-564 + Plates 23-33. (''Glauconia boulengeri'', new species, p. 354 + Plate 25, figure 1). (in German).
* Loveridge A (1957). "Check List of the Reptiles and Amphibians of East Africa (Uganda; Kenya; Tanganyika; Zanzibar)". ''Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, in Cambridge'' 117 (2): 153-362 + i-xxxvi (index). (''Leptotyphlops boulengeri'', new combination, p. 246).
Epacrophis
Reptiles of Kenya
Endemic fauna of Kenya
Reptiles described in 1913
Taxa named by Oskar Boettger
{{Scolecophidia-stub