Indotyphlops lazelli

Indotyphlops lazelli, commonly known as the Hong Kong blind snake and Lazell's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Hong Kong.^[2][4]

Indotyphlops lazelli
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Typhlopidae
Genus:	Indotyphlops
Species:	I. lazelli
Binomial name
Indotyphlops lazelli (Wallach & Pauwels, 2004)
Synonyms[2]
Typhlops lazelli Wallach & Pauwels, 2004[3]

Etymology

The specific name, lazelli, is in honor of American herpetologist James Draper "Skip" Lazell.^[5]

Description

I. lazelli is characterized by having 18 scale rows around the body.^[3] The mental is projecting, and the second and third upper labials overlap the shields above them.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of I. lazelli is forest, at altitudes of 100–200 m (330–660 ft).^[1]

Reproduction

I. lazelli is oviparous.^[2]

References

1. Lau, M.; Qi, S.; Rao, D.-Q. (2024). "Indotyphlops lazelli ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024: e.T199780A199545467. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-1.RLTS.T199780A199545467.en. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
2. Indotyphlops lazelli at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 16 June 2020.
3. Wallach, V.; Pauwels, Olivier S. G. (2004). "Typhlops lazelli, a new species of Chinese blindsnake from Hong Kong (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)". Breviora. 512 (1): 1–21. doi:10.3099/0006-9698(2004)512[1:TLANSO]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 86212032.
4. Zhao, E.M. (2006). [The Snakes of China ]. Hefei, China: Anhui Science & Technology Publishing House. Vol. I, 372 pp.; Vol. II (color plates), 280 pp. (in Chinese).
5. Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Typhlops lazelli, p. 153).

Further reading

• Hedges, S.B.; Marion, A.B.; Lipp, K.M.; Marin, J.; Vidal, N. (2014). "A taxonomic framework for typhlopid snakes from the Caribbean and other regions (Reptilia, Squamata)". Caribbean Herpetology 49: 1–61. (Indotyphlops lazelli, new combination).