Christmas Island blind snake

The Christmas Island blind snake (Ramphotyphlops exocoeti) is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Christmas Island. No subspecies are currently recognized.[2]

Christmas Island blind snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Typhlopidae
Genus: Ramphotyphlops
Species:
R. exocoeti
Binomial name
Ramphotyphlops exocoeti
(Boulenger, 1887)
Synonyms[1]
  • Typhlops exocoeti
    Boulenger In Günther, 1887
  • Typhlops exocoeti
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Typhlops exocoeti
    — Hahn, 1980
  • Ramphotyphlops exocoeti
    — Cogger, Sadlier & Cameron, 1983

Etymology

The specific name, exocoeti, which means "flying fish", is in honor of the officers of HMS Flying Fish, who collected the holotype.[3]

Geographic range

It is found on Christmas Island (Australia). The type locality given is "Christmas Island, Indian Ocean".[1]

Conservation status

The species R. exocoeti is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List with the following criteria: D2 (v2.3, 1994).[4] This means that it is not Critically Endangered, but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future. This is because the population is very small and characterized by an acute restriction in its area of occupancy. It is therefore prone to the effects of human activities (or stochastic events, the impact of which is increased by human activities) within a very short period of time in an unforeseeable future. Therefore, it is possible that this species may become Critically Endangered or even Extinct within a very short period of time.

References
  1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. "Ramphotyphlops exocoeti ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ramphotyphlops exocoeti, p. 87).
  4. Cogger, H., Mitchell, N.M, Woinarski, J. & Ellis, R. 2017. Ramphotyphlops exocoeti. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T19107A83771020. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T19107A83771020.en. Downloaded on 03 January 2019.

Further reading
  • Boulenger GA (1887). "III. Reptiles". pp. 516–517. In: Günther A (1887). "Report on a Zoological Collection made by the Officers of H.M.S. 'Flying Fish' at Christmas Island, Indian Ocean". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1887: 507-526 + Plates XLI-XLIV. (Typhlops exocœti, new species, p. 517).


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