Madatyphlops cariei
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Madatyphlops cariei

Madatyphlops cariei is an extinct blind snake species which was endemic to Mauritius. It is named for Paul Carié (1876–1930), an amateur naturalist attached to the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, who made excavations in Mare aux Songes around 1900 where the remains of this species were discovered.

Appearance

It is known only from seven fossil vertebrae from the middle region of the trunk, including two sets of connected vertebra and one isolated vertebra. With an estimated length of more than 200 mm it was significantly larger than Ramphotyphlops braminus, a blind snake which still occurs on Mauritius. T. cariei was also distinct by various characters of the vertebral morphology.

References

1. Madatyphlops cariei Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madatyphlops_cariei
2. Madatyphlops cariei on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22607/9379456

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