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Tetracheilostoma bilineatum (SCHLEGEL, 1839)

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Higher TaxaLeptotyphlopidae, Epictinae, Epictini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Martinique Threadsnake, Two-lined Blind Snake 
SynonymTyphlops bilineatus SCHLEGEL 1839: 36
Typhlops (Fucephalus) bilineatus — FITZINGER 1843: 24
Stenostoma bilineatum — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1844: 331
Stenostoma (Tetracheilostoma) bilineatum — JAN 1861
Glauconia bilineata — BOULENGER 1893: 70
Glauconia bilineata — WERNER 1913: 21
Leptotyphlops bilineata — BARBOUR 1914: 324
Leptotyphlops bilineatus — THOMAS et al. 1985: 219
Leptotyphlops bilineata — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 617
Leptotyphlops bilineatus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 22
Tetracheilostoma bilineatum — ADALSTEINSSON, BRANCH, TRAPE, VITT & HEDGES 2009
Tetracheilostoma bilineata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 714 
DistributionMartinique, St. Lucia, Barbados (Lesser Antilles)

Type locality: Martinique and Guadeloupe.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: MNHN-RA 3234, MNHN-RA 3234A-B (3 syntypes) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Species of Tetracheilostoma have 14 (rarely 16) midbody scale rows, 10–12 midtail scale rows, 170–192 middorsal scale rows, 12–15 subcaudals, four supralabials, moderate anterior supralabials, 104–113 mm maximum adult total length, a body shape of 31–54 (total length/width), a relative tail length of 5.1–7.0 %, a tail shape of 1.4–2.7, striped pattern (dull yellow stripes), dark brown dorsal color, and brown venter (Table 2). They are distinguished from the other genus in this subtribe, Mitophis, by having a low number of middorsal scales (170–192 versus 262–414), stouter body (31–54 versus 43–94), and a dark brown dorsum (not a pale brown or unpigmented dorsum). The support for this group was 100% BP and 100% PP for the four-gene tree (Fig. 3); no sequences were included in the nine-gene tree (Fig. 4). [from ADALSTEINSSON et al. 2009].


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CommentFor illustrations see Thomas, 1965.

Reportedly the smallest snake species known, reaching only 11 cm (FLINDT 2002) although L. carlae HEDGES 2008 appears to be slightly smaller.

Type species: Typhlops bilineatus SCHLEGEL 1839 is the type species of the genus Tetracheilostoma JAN 1861. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin bi-, ‘two’ and lineatus, a, um, from the participle of lineo, ‘marked with lines’, due to the presence of two light longitudinal stripes in this species (Schlegel 1839: 36).

The genus name is neuter in gender and derived from the Greek adjective tetra (four) and Greek nouns cheilos (lip) and stoma (mouth), in reference to the presence of four supralabial scales. 
References
  • Adalsteinsson, S.A.; Branch, W.R.; Trapé, S.; Vitt, L.J. & Hedges, S.B. 2009. Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of snakes of the Family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata). Zootaxa 2244: 1-50 - get paper here
  • Barbour, T. 1915. Recent notes regarding West Indian reptiles and amphibians. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 28: 71-78 - get paper here
  • Barbour, Thomas 1914. A Contribution to the Zoögeography of the West Indies, with Especial Reference to Amphibians and Reptiles. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy 44 (2): 205-359 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M. C. and G. Bibron. 1844. Erpetologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complete des Reptiles. Vol.6. Libr. Encyclopédique Roret, Paris, 609 pp. - get paper here
  • Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, fasciculus primus, Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel, Wien: 106 pp. - get paper here
  • Flindt, R. 2002. Biologie in Zahlen, 6. Aufl. Spektrum Akad. Verlag, Heidelberg, 296 pp.
  • Grant, C. 1959. Herpetology of Barbados, B.W.I. Herpetologica 15 (2): 97-101 - get paper here
  • Jan, G. 1861. Iconographie générale des ophidiens. 2. Livraison. J.B. Bailière et Fils, Paris - get paper here
  • Martins A, Passos P, Pinto R 2019. Moving beyond the surface: Comparative head and neck myology of threadsnakes (Epictinae, Leptotyphlopidae, Serpentes), with comments on the ‘scolecophidian’ muscular system. PLoS ONE 14(7): e0219661 - get paper here
  • Martins, A., Koch, C., Joshi, M., Pinto, R., Machado, A., Lopes, R., & Passos, P. 2021. Evolutionary treasures hidden in the West Indies: Comparative osteology and visceral morphology reveals intricate miniaturization in the insular genera Mitophis Hedges, Adalsteinsson, & Branch, and Tetracheilostoma Jan, 1861 (Leptotyphlopidae: Epicti The Anatomical Record - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Schlegel, H. 1837. Abbildungen neuer oder unvollständig bekannter Amphibien, nach der Natur oder dem Leben entworfen. Düsseldorf (Arnz & Comp.), i-xiv + 141 pp. [1837-1844] - get paper here
  • Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 720 pp.
  • Thomas, R. 1965. The genus Leptotyphlops in the West Indies with description of a new species from Hispaniola (Serpentes, Leptotyphlopidae). Breviora (222):1-12. - get paper here
  • Thomas, R., R. W. McDiarmid, and F. G. Thompson. 1985. Three new species of thread snakes (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) from Hispaniola. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 98: 204-220. - get paper here
  • Thorpe, R.S. 2022. Reptiles of the Lesser Antilles. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 608 pp. - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Werner, F. 1913. Neue oder seltene Reptilien und Frösche des Naturhistorischen Museums in Hamburg. Reptilien der Ostafrika-Expedition der Hamburger Geographischen Gesellschaft 1911/12. Leiter: Dr. E. Obst. Reptilien und Amphibien von Formosa. [these are 3 separate re Jb. Hamb. wiss. Anst., 30 [1912], 2. Beiheft: 1-39, 40-45, 45-51 - get paper here
 
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