ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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The Tiflopoidei (Typhlopoidea ) are a superfamily of serpents, the only superfamily of the Scolecophidia infraorder.

Description
These are small snakes, commonly referred to as "serpenti verme", which have a cylindrical-tubular body, covered by small but resistant scales; the head is hardly distinguishable from the rest of the body and the eyes are vestigial.
Most species do not exceed 30 cm in length; a single species, Afrotyphlops schlegelii (Typhlopidae), can reach lengths of about 1 m.

Biology
The grouping includes species characterized by dirt habits.

They spend their existence underground, feeding on ants, termites and their larvae.

Most species are ovovivipara, few are the viviparous species.

Taxation
The superfamily Typhlopoidea includes the following families:

Anomalepididae
Gerrhopilidae
Leptotyphlopidae
Typhlopidae
Xenotyphlopidae

Some Authors have recently proposed, on the basis of results of molecular analysis, to elevate Leptotyphlopidae and Anomalolepidae to the rank of standing superfamilies (respectively Leptotyphlopoidea and Anomalepidoidea), but this approach is not universally accepted.

Distribution and habitat
The scolecophagids are present on all continents except Antarctica; most species are found in the tropical areas of the southern hemisphere.

The tiflopids are grouping with the wider range, being present in the neotropical area, in Africa, Madagascar, south-eastern Europe, southern Asia and Australia. The only species present in Europe is Xerotyphlops vermicularis (sin.: Typhlops vermicularis), widespread in the Balkan Peninsula, the Aegean Islands, Cyprus and Turkey.

The leptotiflopids extend from neotropics to tropical Africa, and through the Arabian peninsula reach South-West Asia.

The gerropilids are present in India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Philippines and New Guinea.

The area of the anomaloids is restricted to Central America and South America, while the Xenotyphlopidae family, represented by a single species, is endemic to Madagascar.

Development
The evolutionary history of scolecophagids begins in the supercontinent Gondwana in Mesozoic, and their initial diversification was caused by separation, which occurred about 150 million years ago, between eastern and western Gondwana, with anomalepids and leptotiflopids that evolved in the western part of the supercontinent, from which will originate South America and Africa, and tiptotiflopids. Later, the tiflopids spread to Africa and Eurasia. South American tiflopids apparently evolved, about 60 million years ago, from African tiflopids following trans-oceanic dispersion through the Atlantic, to spread successes