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Xenotyphlops grandidieri (MOCQUARD, 1905)

IUCN Red List - Xenotyphlops grandidieri - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaXenotyphlopidae, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymTyphlops grandidieri MOCQUARD 1905: 286
Typhlops grandidieri — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 349
Xenotyphlops grandidieri — WALLACH & INEICH 1996
Xenotyphlops grandidieri — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 127
Xenotyphlops mocquardi WALLACH, MERCURIO & ANDREONE 2007
Xenotyphlops mocquardi — VIDAL et al. 2010
Xenotyphlops grandidieri — VIDAL et al. 2010
Xenotyphlops grandidieri — WALLACH et al. 2014: 804
Xenotyphlops mocquardi — LINDKEN et al. 2024 
DistributionMadagascar.

Type locality: “Madagascar”

mocquardi: Madagascar. Type locality: Ambodivahibe (approximately 12 km SE Antsiranana), Antsiranana Fivondronana, Antsiranana Faritany, 22°23’25”S, 49°26’20”E, elevation ca. 40 m.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 1905.0271, paralectotype: MNHN-RA 1905.0272
Holotype: MRSN R3208 (field no. FAZC 13182), an adult female collected by V. Mercurio, on 14 January 2005 [mocquardi] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2106 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: Xenotyphlops mocquardi was synonymized with X. grandidieri by Wegener et al. 2013.

This bizarre scolecophidian has been known solely from the type specimens for more than 100 years. No precise locality is known for X. grandidieri proper. However, after the synonymization with X. mocquardi Wegener et al. 2013 described its distribution in more detail.

Type species: Typhlops grandidieri MOCQUARD 1905 is the type species of the genus Xenotyphlops WALLACH & INEICH 1996. The genus is also the type genus of the family Xenotyphlopidae VIDAL et al. 2010. 
EtymologyNamed after Alfred Grandidier (1836-1921), French explorer, geographer, and ornithologist who collected in Madagascar (1865).

Xenotyphlops mocquardi was named after François Mocquard (1834–1917), the herpetologist who described Xenotyphlops grandidieri. During his life Mocquard contributed in a substantial way to the knowledge of Malagasy herpetofauna (Glaw & Vences, 1994), culminating in his grand systematic synopsis (Mocquard, 1909). 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Chretien, J. , Wang‐Claypool, C. Y., Glaw, F. and Scherz, M. D. 2019. The bizarre skull of Xenotyphlops sheds light on synapomorphies of Typhlopoidea. J. Anat., 234: 637-655. doi:10.1111/joa.12952 - get paper here
  • Glaw ,F. & Vences, M. 1994. A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Vences & Glaw Verlag, Köln (ISBN 3-929449-01-3)
  • Guibé ,J. 1958. Les serpents de Madagascar. Memoires de l’Institut Scientifique de Madagascar 12: 189-260
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Mocquard, M.F. 1905. Note préliminaire sur une collection de reptiles et de Batraciens offerte au Muséum par M. Maurice de Rothschild. Bull. Mus. nation. Hist. nat., Paris 11: 285-288 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Pyron, R.A. & Wallach, V. 2014. Systematics of the blindsnakes (Serpentes: Scolecophidia: Typhlopoidea) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Zootaxa 3829 (1): 001–081 - get paper here
  • Wallach, V. & Glaw, F. 2009. A new mid-altitude rainforest species of Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) from Madagascar with notes on the taxonomic status of T. boettgeri Boulenger, T. microcephalus Werner, and T. capensis Rendahl. Zootaxa 2294: 23–38 - get paper here
  • Wallach, V. & I. INEICH 1996. Redescription of a rare Malagasy blind snake, Typhlops grandidieri MOCQUARD, with placement in a new genus (Serpentes: Typhlopidae). Journal of Herpetology 30 (3): 367-376. - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; VINCENZO MERCURIO & FRANCO ANDREONE 2007. Rediscovery of the enigmatic blind snake genus Xenotyphlops in northern Madagascar, with description of a new species (Serpentes: Typhlopidae). Zootaxa 1402: 59–68 - get paper here
  • Wegener, J.E., Swoboda, S., Hawlitschek, O., Franzen, M., Wallach, V., Vences, M., Nagy, T., Hedges, S.B., Köhler, J. & Glaw, F. 2013. Morphological variation and taxonomic reassessment of the endemic Malagasy blind snake family Xenotyphlopidae (Serpentes, Scolecophidia). Spixiana, 36: 269–282 - get paper here
  • Ziegler, Thomas; Joel Kamphausen, Frank Glaw, Angelica Crot- tini,, Gerardo Garcia, Dennis Rödder, Anna Rauhaus, Lilli Sten- ger & Anna Wahle 2022. Threatened Malagasy amphibians and reptiles in zoos – a call for enhanced implementation of the IUCN’s One Plan Approach Zool. Garten N.F. 90: 21-69 - get paper here
 
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