Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Taxa

Typhlopidae

Reptile Families

Typhlopidae is a family of blind snakes found across tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia and many islands, comprising 18 genera and more than 200 species. They live underground, with vestigial eyes, a shovel-like scale over the mouth for digging, and jaws fixed in a way that limits them to prey smaller than their own mouth, mostly termites and ants. Reproduction is mostly by egg laying, though the Brahminy blind snake is a notable exception, the only known unisexual snake, with an all female population that reproduces by parthenogenesis. The family is thought to have originated in Madagascar in the Late Cretaceous before spreading across the tropics.

Facts
Classification
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Taxonomic Rank
Family 2
Connections

Parent Taxon Of

Source Wikidata: Brahminy Blind Snake
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ664781, descriptionView the Source
2. Wikipedia: Typhlopidae
WikipediaIntroduction
Quote, Introduction
The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes.
View the Source
Wikidata: Typhlopidae
Wikidata Q664781, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Wikidata: Brahminy Blind Snake
WikidataParent Taxon Of: Brahminy Blind Snake, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chainView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.