The Turkish worm lizard (Blanus strauchi) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Blanidae. The species is native to Southeast Europe and the Middle East. There are two recognized subspecies.

Turkish worm lizard
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Blanidae
Genus: Blanus
Species:
B. strauchi
Binomial name
Blanus strauchi
(Bedriaga, 1884)
Synonyms[2]
  • Amphisbaena strauchi
    Bedriaga, 1884
  • Blanus strauchi
    Engelmann et al., 1993

Etymology

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The specific name, strauchi, is in honor of Russian herpetologist Alexander Strauch.[3]

Geographic range

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B. strauchi is found in Greece, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.[2]

Habitat

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The preferred natural habitat of B. strauchi is shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to 1,400 m (4,600 ft).[1]

Reproduction

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B. strauchi is oviparous.[2]

Subspecies

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Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Blanus.

References

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  1. ^ a b Petros Lymberakis, Varol Tok, Ismail H. Ugurtas, Murat Sevinç, Ahmad Mohammed Mousa Disi, Souad Hraoui-Bloquet, Riyad Sadek, Yehudah Werner, Yakup Kaska, Yusuf Kumlutaş, Aziz Avci, Nazan Üzüm (2009). "Blanus strauchi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T157272A5067037. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T157272A5067037.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c Blanus strauchi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  3. ^ 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. (Blanus strauchi, p. 256).

Further reading

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  • Bedriaga J (1884). "Amphisbaena cinerea Vand. und A. Strauchi v. Bedr., Erster Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Doppelschleichen ". Archiv für Naturgeschichte 50 (1): 23–41. (Amphisbaena strauchi, new species, pp. 35–41, Figures 4–6). (in German).
  • Bedriaga J (1884). "Nachträgliche Bemerkung über Amphisbaena Strauchi v. Bedr." Zoologischer Anzeiger 7: 346. (in German).
  • Boulenger GA (1884). "Descriptions of new Species of Reptiles in the British Museum.—Part II." Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fifth Series 13: 396–398. (Blanus bedriagae, new species, p. 396).
  • Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. (Monographs of the Societas Herpetologica Italica). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. ISBN 978-88-89504-14-7.