Virgotyphlops, Wallach, Van, 2021

Wallach, Van, 2021, Addendum to the proposal for a new generic name, Virgotyphlops, for the species Eryx braminus Daudin, 1803 (Serpentes: Typhlopidae), Pod @ rcis 12 (1), pp. 16-18 : 17

Virgotyphlops gen. nov.

Virgotyphlops (atelonym) WALLACH, 2020a: 10 ; WALLACH, 2020b: 326–329 ; MIDGAARD, 2021: RepFocus website; NAHUAT-CERVERA, 2021: 85, 89, 91; UETZ & HALLERMANN, 2021: Reptile Database website.

Type species: Eryx braminus Daudin, 1803: 279 .

Content: Virgotyphlops braminus ( Daudin, 1803) by monotypy.

Diagnosis: Virgotyphlops can be distinguished from all other genera of the squamate suborder Serpentes by its triploid karyotype (3n = 42), obligative parthenogenetic method of reproduction, and confluence of the supranasal gland line with the caudal portion of rostral gland line on dorsum of head, interrupting the anterior and posterior rostral lines ( WALLACH, 2020a). Virgotyphlops can best be described as a genus of miniature, unisexual, all-female, highly successful invasive snakes.

Etymology: derived from the Greek virgo, meaning virgin birth, and typhlops, meaning blind [snake].

Vernacular names: Flowerpot snake or Brahminy blindsnake.

Distribution: Due to the ease with which it can be transported in the soil of plants, the natural range of Virgotyphlops braminus has greatly expanded as a result of human commerce to include humid to arid climates in tropical, subtropical, and occasionally temperate regions of the world, except for South America (which it has not yet invaded). Outside of Asia, it is primarily found in domestic and urban habitations.