Moroccan worm lizard
| Moroccan Worm Lizard | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Lacertoidea |
| Clade: | Amphisbaenia |
| Family: | Blanidae |
| Genus: | Blanus |
| Species: | B. mettetali
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| Binomial name | |
| Blanus mettetali Bons, 1963
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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The Moroccan worm lizard (Blanus mettetali) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Blanidae. The species is endemic to Morocco.[3]
Etymology
[edit]The specific name, mettetali, is in honor of a Mr. Mettetal who was head of the Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Morocco.[4]
Description
[edit]Blanus mettetali has eight or more preanal pores, which are usually arranged in a continuous transverse series.[2]
Habitat
[edit]The natural habitats of Blanus mettetali are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, arable land, and pastureland, at elevations up to 2,092 m (6,864 ft).[1]
Behavior
[edit]Blanus mettetali is terrestrial, sheltering in sandy soil and under stones.[1]
Reproduction
[edit]Blanus mettetali is oviparous.[1][2] Clutch size is one egg.[1]
Conservation status
[edit]Blanus mettetali is threatened by habitat loss.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Miras, J.A.M.; Joger, U.; Pleguezuelos, J.; Slimani, T. (2006). "Blanus mettetali ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006 e.T61470A12472055. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T61470A12472055.en. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Species Blanus mettetali at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Busack, Stephen D. (1988). "Biochemical and Morphological Differentiation in Spanish and Moroccan Populations of Blanus and the Description of a New Species from Northern Morocco (Reptilia, Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae)". Copeia. 1988 (1): 101–109. doi:10.2307/1445928. JSTOR 1445928. (Blanus mettetali, new taxonomic status).
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Blanus mettetali, p. 177).
Further reading
[edit]- Bons, Jacques (1963). "Notes sur Blanus cinereus (Vandelli), description d'une sous-espèce Marocaine: Blanus cinereus mettetali ssp. nov." Bulletin de la Société des Sciences naturelles et physiques du Maroc (1-2): 95–107. (Blanus cinereus mettetali, new suspecies). (in French).
- Schleich, H.H.; Kästle, W.; Kabisch, K. (1996). Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa. Königstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books. ISBN 978-3-87429-377-8. 630 pp. (Blanus mettetali, p. 468).
- Sindaco, R.; Jeremčenko, V.K. (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. (Monographs of the Societas Herpetologica Italica). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. ISBN 978-88-89504-14-7. 580 pp.
Phylogeographical patterns
[edit]- Albert EM, Zardoya R, García-París M (2007). "Phylogeographical and speciation patterns in subterranean worm lizards of the genus Blanus (Amphisbaenia: Blanidae)". Molecular Ecology. 16 (7): 1519–1531. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03248.x. ISSN 0962-1083. PMID 17391273. S2CID 26071914.
- Vasconcelos, Raquel; Harris, D. James; Carretero, Miguel (2006). "Phylogeography of the genus Blanus (worm lizards) in Iberia and Morocco based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers — preliminary analysis". Amphibia-Reptilia. 27 (3): 339–346. doi:10.1163/156853806778190033. ISSN 0173-5373.
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