Xenotyphlops
Sign in to saveXenotyphlops is a genus of snakes, the only genus of the family Xenotyphlopidae, comprising two species found only in Madagascar. These snakes are also known as the Malagasy blind snake.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- monotypic taxon
- Parent taxon
- Xenotyphlopidae
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- taxon rank
- genus
- taxon name
- Xenotyphlops
- topic's main category
- Category:Xenotyphlops
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Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Evolution
- Physical characteristics
- Geographic range
- Conservation status
- Species
- Etymology
- Taxonomy
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Xenotyphlops is a genus of snakes, the only genus of the family Xenotyphlopidae, comprising two species found only in Madagascar. These snakes are also known as the Malagasy blind snake.
==Evolution== Xenotyphlops is an ancient group that diverged from other blind snakes during the Cretaceous, following the separation of Madagascar from India. On the newly-isolated Madagascar, the ancestral Xenotyphlopidae and Typhlopidae diverged from one another; Typhlopidae dispersed worldwide from Madagascar while leaving behind a single Malagasy genus (Madatyphlops), while the Xenotyphlopidae remained restricted to Madagascar. Xenotyphlops, Madatyphlops, and the Madagascan big-headed turtle are the only Malagasy terrestrial vertebrates whose isolation on Madagascar is due to Gondwanan vicariance.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Xenotyphlops” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.