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Liotyphlops ternetzii (BOULENGER, 1896)

IUCN Red List - Liotyphlops ternetzii - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAnomalepididae, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Ternetz's Blind Snake
Portuguese: Cobra-Cega
Portuguese: Cobra-Cabelo, Cobra-Cega, Cobra-Cega-Preta, Cobra-de-Chumbinho, Fura-Terra [beui] 
SynonymHelminthophis ternetzii BOULENGER 1896: 584
Helminthophis incertus AMARAL 1924: 29
Helminthophis beui AMARAL 1924: 29
Helminthophis ternetzii — AMARAL 1924: 27
Helminthophis collenettei PARKER 1928: 97
Liotyphlops incertus — VANZOLINI 1948: 380
Liotyphlops ternetzi — SMITH & GRANT 1958: 207
Liotyphlops ternetzii – PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 183
Liotyphlops ternetzii — DIXON & KOFRON 1984: 255
Liotyphlops beui — DIXON & KOFRON 1984: 258
Liotyphlops ternetzii — STARACE 1998: 70
Liotyphlops ternetzii — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 51
Liotyphlops beui — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 51
Liotyphlops beui — FREIRE et al. 2007
Liotyphlops ternetzii — FREIRE et al. 2007
Liotyphlops cf. ternetzii — LOEBMANN 2009
Liotyphlops beui — ARAUJO et al. 2011
Liotyphlops ternetzii — WALLACH et al. 2014: 397
Liotyphlops beui — WALLACH et al. 2014: 397
Liotyphlops beui — PINHEIRO et al. 2015
Liotyphlops sousai MARRA-SANTOS & REIS 2018
Liotyphlops beui — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019
Liotyphlops sousai — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019
Liotyphlops ternetzii — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019
Liotyphlops beui — ENTIAUSPE-NETO et al. 2023
Liotyphlops ternetzii — MARRA-SANTOS 2023
Liotyphlops beui — COUTO et al. 2024
Liotyphlops beui — MESQUITA et al. 2025 
DistributionBrazil (Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro), N Argentina (Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Formosa, Jujuy, Misiones, Salta), Paraguay (Amambay, Caazapá, Canendiyu, Itapúa, Presidente Hayes), Uruguay, Suriname

Type locality: Paraguay

beui: Brazil (Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Espírito-Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Paraná), Paraguay (fide Paul Smith, pers. comm., 27 Apr 2014). Type locality: Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil.

incertus: Type locality: Surinam [Suriname], but questioned by Dixon & Kofron 1984.

collenettei: Type locality: Burity, 2250 ft., 30 miles northeast of Coyaba [Cuiabá], Mato Grosso [Brazil].

sousai: Brazil (Santa Catarina): Type locality: Brazil, Santa Catarina State, Municipality of Passos Maia, Passos Maia small hydroeletric power plant, 26°42’14’’S, 51°55’05’’W.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.11.77
Holotype: IBSP (= IB) 1806; paratypes: IB, MCZ, BMNH [beui]
Holotype: MCZ 17846 [incertus]
Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.10.73 (formerly BMNH 1928.1.12.1) [collenettei]
Holotype: UFRGS 6274, 191.4 mm, Simone Leonardi, January 2012 [sousai] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 4490 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentNocturnal.

Distribution: for a discussion of type localities and distribution see Dixon & Kofron 1984.

Synonymy: Helminthophis incertus was synonymized with Liotyphlops ternetzii by Dixon & Kofron 1984. Marra Santos 2023 synonymized Helminthophis beui with L. ternetzii, following Peters and Orejas-Miranda 1970: 183. Amaral 1954: 192 synonymized Helminthophis collenettei with ternetzii. Entiauspe-Neto et al. 2023 synonymized Liotyphlops sousai with Liotyphlops beui. Marra-Santos 2023 synonymized Liotyphlops beui with L. ternetzii.

Etymology: H. beui was named after T. Beu, the collector of the holotype. Has been removed from the synonym of L. ternetzii by DIXON & KOFRON 1984.

NCBI taxon ID: 1680135 [beui] 
EtymologyNamed after Dr. Carl Ternetz (b. 1870), an ichthyologist and naturalist who collected all over South America over a period of more than 30 years.

Named after T. Beu, the collector of the holotype. Has been removed from the synonym of L. ternetzii by DIXON & KOFRON 1984.

L. sousai is an epithet in honor of the Brazilian Army Colonel Fernando Machado de Sousa (January 11, 1822–December 6, 1868), recognized as the greatest military hero of the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. 
References
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