Leptotyphlopidae

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The Leptotyphlopidae (commonly called slender blind snakes or thread snakes<ref name="ITIS">{{#if:174334 | {{#invoke:template wrapper|wrap|_template=cite web|_exclude=id,ID,taxon

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Description

Relatively small snakes, leptotyphlopids rarely exceed Template:Convert in length; only Trilepida macrolepis and Leptotyphlops occidentalis grow larger. The cranium and upper jaws are immobile and no teeth are in the upper jaw. The lower jaw consists of a much elongated quadrate bone, a tiny compound bone, and a relatively larger dentary bone.<ref name="NRDB">Template:NRDB family</ref> The body is cylindrical with a blunt head and a short tail. The scales are highly polished. The pheromones they produce protect them from attack by termites.<ref>Field Guide to Snakes of Southern Africa - Bill Branch (Struik 1988)</ref> Among these snakes is what is believed to be the world's smallest: L. carlae (Hedges, 2008).<ref name="Hed08">Hedges SB (2008). "At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata, Leptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles". Zootaxa 1841: 1-30.PDF at Zootaxa. Accessed 28 July 2008.</ref>

Geographic range

Leptotyphlopids are found in Africa, western Asia from Turkey to eastern India, on Socotra Island, and from the southwestern United States south through Mexico and Central America to South America, though not in the high Andes. In Pacific South America, they occur as far south as southern coastal Peru, and on the Atlantic side as far as Uruguay and Argentina. In the Caribbean, they are found on the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and the Lesser Antilles.<ref name="McD99"/>

Habitat

Leptotyphlopids occur in a wide variety of habitats from arid areas to rainforest, and are known to occur near ant and termite nests.

Feeding

The diets of leptotyphlopids consist mostly of termite or ant larvae, pupae, and adults. Most species suck out the contents of insect bodies and discard the exoskeleton.Template:Citation needed

Reproduction

Snakes in the family Leptotyphlopidae are oviparous.<ref name="NRDB"/>

Taxonomy

Subfamily Leptotyphlopinae
- Genus Epacrophis Hedges, Adalsteinsson & Branch, 2009 (3 species)
- Genus Leptotyphlops Fitzinger, 1843 (21 species)
- Genus Myriopholis Hedges, Adalsteinsson & Branch, 2009 (23 species)
- Genus Namibiana Hedges, Adalsteinsson & Branch, 2009 (5 species)
Subfamily Epictinae
- Tribe Epictini, New World snakes
  - Subtribe Epictina
    - Epictia tenella, with coin for scale
      Genus Epictia Gray, 1845 (44 species)
    - Genus Habrophallos Martins, Koch, Pinto, Folly, Fouquet & Passos, 2020 (monotypic, collared blind snake)
    - Genus Siagonodon W. Peters, 1881 (4 species)
  - Subtribe Renina
    - Genus Rena Baird & Girard, 1853 (10 species)
    - Genus Trilepida Hedges, 2011 (14 species)
  - Subtribe Tetracheilostomina
    - Genus Mitophis Hedges, Adalsteinsson & Branch, 2009 (4 species)
    - Genus Tetracheilostoma Jan, 1861 (3 species)
- Tribe Rhinoleptini, African snakes
  - Genus Tricheilostoma Jan, 1860 (5 species)
  - Genus Rhinoleptus Orejas-Miranda, Roux-Estève & Guibé, 1970 (monotypic, Villiers's blind snake)
  - Genus Rhinoguinea J.-F. Trape, 2014 (monotypic, Rhinoguinea magna)