Blanus mariae | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Blanidae |
Genus: | Blanus |
Species: | B. mariae |
Binomial name | |
Blanus mariae Albert & Fernández, 2009 |
Maria's worm lizard (Blanus mariae) is an amphisbaenian species in the family Blanidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.
Geographic range
Blanus mariae is found in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, mainly in the southern half of Portugal and in the spanish autonomous communities of Extremadura and western Andalusia.
Taxonomy
Blanus mariae forms a cryptic species complex with Blanus cinereus.
Etymology
The specific name, mariae, is in honour of Maria del Rosario Aguilar Tortajada (1914–2002), the grandmother of Eva María Albert, one of the scientists who described this species.
Description
Blanus mariae has an average snout–vent length of 175 mm (6.9 in). The body colour is pale pink to dark brilliant purple, with a reticulate pattern caused by the inter-segmental sutures.
References
- ^ Blanus mariae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 8 July 2015.
- "Blanus mariae". Albert y Fernández, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- Bolet, Arnau; Delfino, Massimo; Fortuny, Josep; Almécija, Sergio; Robles, Josep M.; Alba, David M. (4 June 2014). "An amphisbaenian skull from the European Miocene and the evolution of Mediterranean worm lizards". PLOS ONE. 9 (6): e98082. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...998082B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098082. PMC 4045672. PMID 24896828.
- 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. (Blanus mariae, pp. 168-169).
Further reading
Albert, Eva M.; Fernández, Adrián (2009). "Evidence of cryptic speciation in a fossorial reptile: description of a new species of Blanus (Squamata: Amphisbaenia: Blanidae) from the Iberian Peninsula". Zootaxa 2234: 56-68. (Blanus mariae, new species).
Taxon identifiers | |
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Blanus mariae |