Abstract
Here we describe 11 new species of blindsnakes of the genus Typhlops from the West Indies. Four of the new species are from southern Hispaniola and were previously confused with T. hectus Thomas. Seven other species are described from Cuba and are related to T. biminiensis Richmond. Diagnostic morphological differences distinguish all of these species, and at least three pairs are known to be sympatric. With these new taxa, 40 species of Typhlops are now recognized from the West Indies, all of which are endemic to the region. Nearly all species are found on single islands or island banks. We classify West Indian Typhlops into nine species groups, most of which exhibit geographic patterns. The West Indian species form two clades: the T. biminiensis Group with its 12 species is centered in the western Caribbean (Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba) and the remaining species, grouped into eight species groups, form a large clade (Major Antillean Radiation) centered in Hispaniola, but with a closely related pair of lineages in the Puerto Rico region (7 sp.) and northern Lesser Antilles (5 sp.).References
Breuil, M. (1999) Nouvelle espèce du genre Typhlops, (Serpentes, Typhlopidae) de l'île de Saint-Barthélemy, comparaison avec les autres espèces des Petites Antilles. Bulletin Mensuel Société Linnéenne Lyon, 68, 30–40.
Breuil, M. (2002) Histoire naturelle des amphibiens et reptiles terrestres de l'archipel Guadeloupéen. Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, 339 pp.
Dixon, J.R. & Hendricks, F.S. (1979) The wormsnakes (Family Typhlopidae) of the Neotropics, exclusive of the Antilles. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 1–39.
Hass, C.A., Maxson, L.R. & Hedges, S.B. (2001) Relationships and divergence times of West Indian amphibians and reptiles: insights from albumin immunology. In: Woods, C.A. & Sergile, F.E. (Eds.) Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 157–174.
Hedges, S.B. (1996) The origin of West Indian amphibians and reptiles. In: Powell, R. & Henderson, R.W. (Eds.) Contributions to West Indian Herpetology: A Tribute to Albert Schwartz. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, pp. 95–127.
Hedges, S.B. (2001) Caribbean biogeography: an outline. In: Woods, C.A. & Sergile, F.E. (Eds.) Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 15–33.
Hedges, S.B. (2006) Paleogeography of the Antilles and the origin of West Indian terrestrial vertebrates. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 93, 231–244.
Hedges, S.B. & Thomas, R. (1991) Cryptic species of snakes (Typhlopidae: Typhlops) from the Puerto Rico Bank detected by protein electrophoresis. Herpetologica, 47, 448–459.
Iturralde-Vinent, M.A. & MacPhee, R.D.E. (1999) Paleogeography of the Caribbean region: implications for Cenozoic biogeography. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 238, 1–95.
Leviton, A.E., Gibbs, R.H., Heal, E. & Dawson, C.E. (1985) Standards in herpetology and ichthyology: Part I. Standard symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology. Copeia, 1985, 802–832.
Pough, F.H., Andrews, R.M., Cadle, J.E., Crump, M.L., Savitsky, A.H. & Wells, K.D. (2003) Herpetology. Third Edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 612 pp.
Powell, R., Henderson, R.W., Adler, K. & Dundee, H.A. (1996) An annotated checklist of West Indian amphibians and reptiles. In: Powell, R. & Henderson, R. (Eds.) Contributions to West Indian Herpetology: a Tribute to Albert Schwartz. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, New York, pp. 51–93.
Richmond, N.D. (1955) The blind snakes (Typhlops) of Bimini, Bahama Islands, British West Indies, with description of a new species. American Museum Novitates, 1–7.
Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. (1991) Amphibians and reptiles of the West Indies: descriptions, distributions, and natural history. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 720 pp.
Thomas, R. (1965) A reassessment of Virgin Islands Typhlops with the description of two new subspecies. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 13, 187–201.
Thomas, R. (1968) The Typhlops biminiensis group of Antillean blindsnakes. Copeia, 1968, 713–722.
Thomas, R. (1974) A new species of Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) from Hispaniola. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 87, 11–18.
Thomas, R. (1976) Systematics of Antillean blindsnakes of the genus Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae). Ph.D. dissertation. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 288 pp.
Thomas, R. (1989) The relationships of West Indian Typhlops (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) and the description of three new species. In: Woods, C.A. (Ed.) Biogeography of the West Indies: Past, Present, and Future. Sandhill Crane Press, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 409–432.
Thomas, R., McDiarmid, R.W. & Thomapson, F.G. (1985) Three new species of threadsnakes (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) from Hispaniola. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 98, 204–220.
Thomas, R. & Powell, R. (1994) Typhlops pusillus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles, 595, 1–2.
Zug, G.R., Vitt, L.J. & Caldwell, J.P. (2001) Herpetology. Second Edition. Academic Press, San Diego, 630 pp.