Epictia goudotii

Epictia goudotii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Leptotyphlopidae
Genus:	Epictia
Species:	E. goudotii
Binomial name
Epictia goudotii (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844)
Synonyms[2]
Stenostoma goudotii A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1844 Glauconia goudotii — Boulenger, 1893 Leptotyphlops goudotii — Amaral, 1929 Epictia goudotii — Adalsteinsson et al., 2009

Epictia goudotii, also known commonly as the black blind snake and the southern Caribbean threadsnake, is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae. The species is endemic to Middle America.[3][4]

Etymology

The specific name, goudotii, is in honor of French naturalist Justin-Marie Goudot.[5]

Geographic range

In Central America, E. goudotii is found in western Panama.[1][2]

In South America, it is found in western Colombia, northern Venezuela, and on associated islands.[1][2][6]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of E. goudotii is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft), but it has also been found in agricultural clearings.[1]

Description

A small species, E. goudotii usually has a total length (including a short tail) of about 11 cm (4.3 in), but may grow to 16 cm (6.3 in). There are 14 scale rows around the body, throughout the whole length of the body, and there are 10 scale rows around the middle of the tail.[2]

Behavior

E. goudotii is terrestrial and fossorial.[1]

Diet

E. goudotii preys upon ants and termites.[1]

Reproduction

E. goudotii is oviparous.[2]

References

1. Jaramillo C, Batista A, Ibáñez R, Gutiérrez-Cárdenas P, Caicedo JR (2021). "Epictia goudotii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T197501A2491360.en. Accessed on 26 August 2023.
2. Species Epictia goudotii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
4. "Leptotyphlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Leptotyphlops goudotii, p. 104).
6. Freiberg MA (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Leptotyphlops goudotii goudotii, p. 118).

Further reading

• Adalsteinsson SA, Branch WR, Trape S, Vitt LJ, Hedges SB (2009). "Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of snakes of the family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata)". Zootaxa 2244: 1–50. (Epictia goudotii, new combination).
• Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Glauconiidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Glauconia goudotii, p. 64).
• Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G (1844). Erpétologie génerale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles, Tome sixième [Volume 6]. Paris: Roret. xii + 609 pp. (Stenostoma goudotii, new species, p. 330). (in French).
• Jan [G] (1861). Iconographie générale des Ophidiens, Deuxième livraison [Issue 2]. (Illustrated by Ferdinando Sordelli). Paris: Baillière. Index + Plates I-VI. (Stenostoma goudotii, Plate V, figure 2; Plate VI, figure 2). (in French).