{"id":3029,"date":"2020-01-17T12:39:07","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T12:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moroccoherps.com\/?page_id=3029"},"modified":"2020-03-26T11:30:45","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T11:30:45","slug":"blanus_mettetali","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.moroccoherps.com\/en\/ficha\/blanus_mettetali\/","title":{"rendered":"Species page of Blanus mettetali"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Moroccan Worm Lizard
\nBlanus mettetali<\/span>\u00a0Bons, 1963<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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By\u00a0Wouter Beukema<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Updated:\u00a018\/01\/2013<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Taxonomy:\u00a0Amphisbaenia\u00a0|\u00a0Blanidae\u00a0|\u00a0Blanus\u00a0|\u00a0Blanus mettetali<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Blanus
Blanus mettetali. Agadir. Photo: \u00a9 Daniel Heuclin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Range<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0Blanus mettetali<\/span><\/p>\n

Distribution map of
\nBlanus mettetali<\/span>
\nin Morocco.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Gallery: 2 photos.\u00a0[ENTER]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Phylogenetic frame<\/h2>\n

Bons (1963) described the subspecies\u00a0Blanus cinereus mettetali<\/span>\u00a0based on material originating from central-western Morocco. According to the original description,\u00a0B.\u00a0c.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0was partitioned from the nominate subspecies based on differences in scalation. Busack (1988) subsequently compared Spanish and north Moroccan specimens of\u00a0Blanus<\/span>\u00a0by means of electrophoretic analyses and morphological data. This led to the description of\u00a0Blanus\u00a0tingitanus<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and simultaneous elevation of\u00a0B.\u00a0c.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0to species rank. Busack (1988) however did not include\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0in his electrophoretic analyses, while morphological analysis was based on existing museum specimens. The proposed differentiation between\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0B.\u00a0tingitanus<\/span><\/a>\u00a0conclusively remained solely corroborated on morphological data. In a phylogeographical study on Moroccan\u00a0Blanus<\/span>\u00a0nearly two decades later, Vasconcelos\u00a0et al.<\/em>\u00a0(2006) failed to include samples of\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>, likely due to a continuing lack of available material. Albert\u00a0et al.<\/em>\u00a0(2007) were the first to include a single sample of\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0from Rabat in their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses. This study showed that separation between\u00a0B.\u00a0tingitanus<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0most likely took place between 5.5 and 5 million years ago, confirming their status as separate species.<\/p>\n

Description<\/h2>\n

Blanus\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0is a small, legless fossorial lizard species. Recorded snout vent lengths range between 90\u2013230\u00a0mm while head length varies between 4\u20137\u00a0mm (Werner, 1931; Busack, 1988). The tail is short and ends in a sharp point. Eyes are covered by transparent scales. Members of the genus\u00a0Blanus<\/span>\u00a0are morphologically conservative. This fact, in combination with a relative low amount of comparative material has not resulted in the recognition of any differences in size between Moroccan species of\u00a0Blanus<\/span>. However,\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0can be distinguished from\u00a0B.\u00a0tingitanus<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by a higher amount of preanal pores; 8-10 (see also Boettger, 1883) in the former, in contrast to 5 or 6 in the latter.<\/p>\n

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\"Blanus
Blanus_mettetali. Morocco. Photo: \u00a9 Wouter Beukema.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Blanus
Blanus_mettetali. Agadir. Photo: \u00a9 Daniel Heuclin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Dorsal colouration varies from bright pink in juvenile individuals to dark purple or brown in older specimens. The centre of each scale is darker coloured as a result of increased pigment density, apart from the snout, which appears white or cream-coloured.<\/p>\n

Ecology and habits<\/h2>\n

Life-history knowledge of\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0is extremely limited, as a result of the small amount of encountered individuals and their fossorial or occasionally nocturnal habits (Bons & Geniez, 1996). Several individuals have been found under stones near ruins (Bons & Bons, 1959; Stemmler, 1972).\u00a0Blanus\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0is presumably most easy to observe during the humid winter and spring, when individuals can be encountered under stones or migrate above-ground during the night. The vast majority of lowland records accompanied by a either a date or month comprise encounters in March or April (e.g. Boettger, 1883; Hediger, 1935; Bons & Bons, 1959; but see Stemmler, 1972 for a record from July). Werner (1931) found a single individual in June at 1200 m. a.s.l. Individuals likely hide deep in the soil during the arid summer and autumn. Nothing is known about the reproduction or behaviour of\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Distribution, habitat and abundance<\/h2>\n

Blanus\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0is endemic to Morocco, where it occurs southwards from Rabat (possibly from the Oued Sebou, Busack 1988) between the Atlantic Coast and the High Atlas Mountains. The southern limit of its distribution comprises the Souss Valley. The distribution of\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0in the Plain of Marrakesh seems to be highly restricted (Roux & Slimani, 1992). Bons & Geniez (1996) listed only about 30 localities for\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>; this number barely increased during recent decades, as can be concluded from multiple studies dealing with the distribution of Moroccan herpetofauna (e.g. Pieh, 2006; Harris\u00a0et al.<\/em>, 2008; 2010; Barnestein\u00a0et al.<\/em>, 2010; 2012). Occasionally just a single individual was encountered, while most studies produced no new records. Indeed, records from historical studies are without exception based on just a single individual (e.g. Werner, 1931; Hediger, 1935; Bons & Bons, 1959; Stemmler, 1972).<\/p>\n

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\"Blanus
Doukkala plain, interspersed with small water bodies and many stones. Morocco. Photo: \u00a9 Wouter Beukema.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Blanus
Structure-rich habitat of B mettetali in the Doukkala. Morocco. Photo: \u00a9 Wouter Beukema.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Blanus\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0is most generally found in open to half-open humid structure-rich habitats, characterized by an abundance of stones. On the Doukkala Plain,\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0was encountered under stones close to ponds or flooded fields characterized by a rich herbaceous layer, during late March. General abundance seems low, especially when compared to\u00a0B.\u00a0tingitanus<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of Iberian species of the same genus (Pers. obs.). Members of the genus\u00a0Blanus<\/span>\u00a0generally favour humid circumstances and\/or relatively loose soils as part of their microhabitat. While such conditions are common in northern Morocco and the northern Middle Atlas where\u00a0B.\u00a0tingitanus<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is readily found, these are much rarer in central- and southern Morocco. The Plain of Marrakesh and the Souss Valley suffer from increasing aridity, not in the least place due to agricultural practises. These actions could well represent a significant threat to persistence of lowland\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0populations (Miras\u00a0et al.<\/em>, 2006). The only other amphisbenid with which this species co-occurs,\u00a0Trogonophis\u00a0wiegmanni<\/span>, is better adapted to arid conditions and conclusively much more abundant when both species occur syntoptic (Bons & Bons, 1959; Roux & Slimani 1992; Pers. obs.). However, it is likely that\u00a0B.\u00a0mettetali<\/span>\u00a0is locally abundant on the remote, largely unsurveyed western slopes of the High Atlas Mountains.<\/p>\n

References<\/h3>\n