Xenotyphlops grandidieri is a species of blind snake in the family Xenotyphlopidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
Taxonomy In addition to having no subspecies, X. grandidieri is the only species in the genus Xenotyphlops, which is the only genus in the family Xenotyphlopidae. Therefore, X. grandidieri is a monotypic species in a monotypic genus in a monotypic family.Wegener et al. (2013).
Etymology The specific name, grandidieri, is in honor of French naturalist Alfred Grandidier.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Xenotyphlops grandidieri, p. 105).
Geographic range X. grandidieri is found in northern Madagascar.
For over 100 years X. grandidieri was known only from the type specimens and the vague type locality "Madagascar".
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of X. grandidieri is shrubland or forest on sand dunes or with sandy soil, at altitudes from sea level to .
Reproduction X. grandidieri is oviparous.
References
Further reading Glaw F, Vences M (2006). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. . Mocquard F (1905). "Note préliminaire sur une collection de Reptiles et de Batraciens offerte au Muséum par M. Maurice de Rothschild ". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 11 (5): 285–288. ("Typhlops Grandidieri ", new species, p. 287). (in French). Wegener JE, Swoboda S, Hawlitschek O, Franzen M, Wallach V, Vences M, Nagy ZT, Hedges SB, Köhler J, Glaw F (2013). "Morphological variation and taxonomic reassessment of the endemic Malagasy blind snake family Xenotyphlopidae (Serpentes, Scolecophidia)". Spixiana 36 (2): 269–282. Wallach V, Ineich I (1996). "Redescription of a rare Malagasy blind snake, Typhlops grandidieri Mocquard, with placement in a new genus (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)". Journal of Herpetology 30 (3): 367–376. (Xenotyphlops, new genus; Xenotyphlops grandidieri, new combination).