Trans-Pecos blind snake (Leptotyphylops humilis) is found from southwestern Texas west to southeastern Arizona. This tiny burrowing snake is never over ten inches in length.

Thread snakes (Genus Leptotyphlops) can be found in southwestern North America and south through Central and South America into Argentina as well as Africa and the Middle East. There are about 85 species in this genus of snakes which feeds on termites and ants.

The Leptotyphlopidae family contains two genera of tiny snakes usually referred to as blind or slender snakes. The family is found from south west North America to Argentina and also in Africa and the Middle East. The genus Leptotyphlops contains 85 species, and the genus Rhinoleptus contains a single species found in Central Africa.

Lizards and Snakes (Squamata Order) share many common characteristics and consequently they are grouped in a single order. There are greater differences between some groups of lizards than there are between other groups of lizards and snakes. The same is true of snakes. Lizards and snakes share a common skull shape. There are perhaps 4,000 species of lizards and perhaps 2,700 species of snakes alive today. In the Great Big Book of Snakes and Reptiles published in 2014, they noted the above estimates.

Reptiles (Class Reptilia) are an ancient group of scaled chordates. These scales may be permanently joined, as in the turtles, or flexible, as in the snakes. Reptiles are land-based. Their eggs are laid on land and the young are air breathing.

In the Great Big Book of Snakes and Reptiles published in 2014, they noted that there are more than 7,000 species of reptiles alive today.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

NEW SEARCH