Lined Blind Snake
( common lined blind snake or lineolate blind snake )
- Afrotyphlops lineolatus
- IUCN Status: Least Concern
- Threat: harmless
- Venom/Toxin: none
- Trend: unconfirmed
General Information
The lined blind snake (Afrotyphlops lineolatus) is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.
Fun Facts
Letheobia gracilis and other blind snakes are non-venomous, non-threatening, and play a beneficial role in controlling insect populations.
Ecology & Behaviour
This fossorial snake occurs in savannas of the Sudan-Guinean and Guinean climatic zones (Trape and Mané 2006), characterized by annual rainfall in excess of 1,000 mm (Trape and Mané 2006) and relatively cool temperatures. Largen and Spawls (2010) record the species from dry woodland, scrub, the margins of moist forest and lower levels of montane grassland, including grassland areas close to Nairobi. It is also found in coastal woodland in East Africa (Spawls et al. 2002, Largen and Spawls 2010). It is found in leaf litter, deadwood, animal burrows and termite mounds (Trape and Mané 2006). It is often found on the surface following heavy rain (Trape and Mané 2006).
Diet
Its diet consists exclusively of small invertebrates, mainly ants and termites (Trape and Mané 2006). This is an oviparous species.
Conservation
This species is considered Least Concern owing to its wide distribution, and it is not thought to be subject to major threats.
Distribtion & Habitat
It is widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east and Angola and Zambia in the south.
References
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- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Reptilia
- Order: Squamata
- Suborder: Serpentes
- Family: Typhlopidae
- Genus: Afrotyphlops
