Madatyphlops cariei

Madatyphlops cariei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Serpentes
Family:Typhlopidae
Genus:Madatyphlops
Species: M. cariei
Binomial name
Madatyphlops cariei
Synonyms
  • Typhlops cariei

Madatyphlops cariei is an extinct blind snake species which was endemic to Mauritius. It is named for Paul Carié (1876–1930), an amateur naturalist attached to the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, who made excavations in Mare aux Songes around 1900 where the remains of this species were discovered.

Description

It is known only from seven fossil vertebrae from the middle region of the trunk,[2] including two sets of connected vertebra and one isolated vertebra. With an estimated length of more than 200 mm[3] it was significantly larger than Ramphotyphlops braminus, a blind snake which still occurs on Mauritius. T. cariei was also distinct by various characters of the vertebral morphology.[4]

Extinction

This species was classified as extinct in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 1994.[5] It disappeared apparently in the 17th century following the introduction of predatory species to Mauritius.

References

  1. ↑ World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1996. Typhlops cariei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1996: e.T22607A9379456. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T22607A9379456.en. Downloaded on 16 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. ↑ Anthony Cheke & Julian Hume (2008): Lost Land of the Dodo T. & A.D. Poyser. ISBN 0-7136-6544-0. p 314
  4. ↑ Hoffstetter, 1946 : Les Typhlopidae fossiles. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, ser. 2, vol. 18, n. 3, p. 313.
  5. ↑ Typhlops cariei at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 31 August 2007.
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