Editing Mexican blind lizard

{{Short description|Species of lizard}}
{{Speciesbox
| image              = Anelytropsis.jpg
| status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite journal | author = Canseco-Márquez, L. | author2 = Mendoza-Quijano, F. | author3 = Ponce-Campos, P. |name-list-style=amp | title = ''Anelytropsis papillosus'' | journal = [[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] | volume= 2007 | page = e.T64016A12735885 | year = 2007 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64016A12735885.en | doi-access = free }}</ref>
| genus              = Anelytropsis
| parent_authority   = [[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1885
| species            = papillosus
| authority          = Cope, 1885
}}

The '''Mexican blind lizard''' ('''''Anelytropsis papillosus''''') is a species of [[legless lizard]] in the family [[Dibamidae]], and the only species in the genus '''''Anelytropsis'''''.<ref name=RDB/> It is [[endemic]] to Mexico.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=RDB/> They look like [[Amphisbaenia]], but are in fact, only distantly related.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0118199| title = Integrated analyses resolve conflicts over squamate reptile phylogeny and reveal unexpected placements for fossil taxa| journal = PLOS ONE| volume = 10| issue = 3| pages = e0118199| year = 2015| last1 = Reeder | first1 = T. W. | last2 = Townsend | first2 = T. M. | last3 = Mulcahy | first3 = D. G. | last4 = Noonan | first4 = B. P. | last5 = Wood | first5 = P. L. | last6 = Sites | first6 = J. W. | last7 = Wiens | first7 = J. J. | pmid=25803280 | pmc=4372529| bibcode = 2015PLoSO..1018199R| doi-access = free}}</ref>

==Etymology==
Although early authors did not discuss the etymology, the generic name, ''Anelytropsis'', is presumed to be based on the Greek words: ''ana'' = up opon; ''elytron'' = shield; ''ops'' = eye, in reference to the eyes which are concealed by ocular scales. The trivial name or specific epithet, ''papillosus'', is Latin and refers to the minute papillae present on the scales in the anterior areas of the mouth and nose ([[rostral scale]], first [[labial scale]], and [[Loreal (scale)|loreal]]).<ref name="Campbell (1974)">Campbell,  Howard  W.  1974.  ''Catalogue  of American  Amphibians and Reptiles: Anelytropsis,  A.  papillosus.'' Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 156:1–2.</ref>

==Description==
The Mexican blind lizard is a limbless lizard, adapted for burrowing. The head is discernible from the cylindrical body by only a slightly greater width. There are no ear openings and each eye is entirely concealed under a single ocular plate. There are three large plates on the top of the head. The scales on the body are "scincoid", smooth with rounded edges, and may occur in even or odd numbered rows. It is a small species, ranging 20 - 50 cm. in total length. The tail is about one fourth of the total length of the lizard. Anelytropsis are brownish to flesh-colored, with some individuals exhibiting patches of pale scales producing a faint piebald appearance.<ref name="Campbell (1974)" /><ref name="Cope (1885)">Cope, E. D. 1885. ''A Contribution to the Herpetology of Mexico.'' Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 22: 380-381</ref>

==Distribution==
''Anelytropsis papillosus'' is [[endemic]] to [[Mexico]]. It is known from northeastern regions of the country at elevations from 300 to 2300 meters, including southern [[Tamaulipas]], eastern [[San Luis Potosí]], northern [[Hidalgo (state)|Hidalgo]] and [[Querétaro]], northern and central [[Veracruz]], and extreme northern [[Oaxaca]]. Considering the fact that several confirmed localities are extremely close to state boundaries, its rarity, and its fossorial and secretive behavior, some authors have speculated it should be anticipated in areas west of the confirmed distribution, specifically southern [[Nuevo Leon]], extreme eastern [[Guanajuato]], and eastern [[Puebla]].<ref name="Campbell (1974)" /><ref name="Valdez-Villavicencio et al. (2016)">Valdez-Villavicencio, Jorge, Eli Garcia-Padilla, and Vicente Mata-Silva. 2016. ''Anelytropsis papillosus Cope, 1885 (Squamata: Dibamidae), an overlooked species in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.'' Mesoamerican Herpetology 3(1):178-180 p.</ref>

==Ecology and natural history==
[[File:Anelytropsis papillosus, Mexican Blind Lizard, Tamaulipas.jpg|left|thumb|''Anelytropsis papillosus'', municipality of [[Tula, Tamaulipas]] (15 Aug 2004).]]
Very little information has been published on the ecology and natural history of this rare and enigmatic species.<ref name="Valdez-Villavicencio et al. (2016)" /> [[Hobart M. Smith]] reported finding two specimens in rotten logs near ant nests and noted they were "apparently" feeding on termites or ants in the logs.<ref name="Smith (1935)">Smith, Hobart  M.  1935. ''Miscellaneous notes on Mexican  lizards.'' University of Kansas Science Bulletin 22: 146.</ref>

Collector's accounts of finding two specimens in [[San Luis Potosí]], on separate occasions, stated that  both lizards intensely bit the collectors fingers continuously for about three or four minutes when first handled. Then each lizard engaged in [[thanatosis]] (death feigning behavior), at which time the lizards were relaxed but slightly rigid with their mouths half open, one for about two or three minutes, the other for a briefer length of time but subsequently, it suddenly lashed its body and [[Autotomy|autotomized]] about half of its tail.<ref name="Torres-Cervantes et al. (2004)">Torres-Cervantes, Ricardo J., Xóchitl Hernándex-Ibarra, and Aurelio Ramírez-Bautista. 2004. ''Anelytropsis papillosus (Mexican Blind Lizard), Death Feigning and Autotomy.'' Herpetological Review 35(4): 384 p.</ref>

===Habitat===
[[File:Chihuahua Desert SW of Tula, Municipality of Tula, Tamaulipas, Mexico (24 September 2003).jpg|thumb|Chihuahua Desert scrub flats, Municipality of [[Tula, Tamaulipas]] (24 Sept 2003)]]
Locality records for the [[fossorial]] ''Anelytropsis papillosus'' do not correlate to surface vegetation communities or typical [[biogeographic]] patterns.<ref name="Dixon and Lemos Espinal (2010)">Dixon, James R. and Julio A. Lemos Espinal. 2010. ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the State of Querétaro, Mexico.'' Published jointly by Texas A&M University, College Station, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and CONABIO. xiv, 428 pp. [pages 211-212] {{ISBN|978-607-7607-22-9}}</ref> It has been reported from a remarkably wide spectrum of habitats, from [[Chihuahuan Desert]] scrub flats on the [[Mexican Plateau]], to [[cloud forest]] in the [[Sierra Madre Oriental]] ([[El Cielo Biosphere Reserve]]), and [[tropical deciduous forest]] on the [[coastal plain]] in [[Tamaulipas]].<ref name="Farr et al. (2007)">Farr, William L., Pablo A. Lavin-Murcio, and David Lazcano.  2007. ''New distributional records for amphibian and reptiles from the state of  Tamaulipas, México.'' Herpetological Review 38(2): 230.</ref><ref name="Garcia-Padilla and Farr (2010)">Garcia-Padilla, Elí, and William L. Farr. 2010. ''Anelytropsis papillosus (Mexican Blind Lizard) México: Tamaulipas.'' Herpetological Review 41(4); 511</ref> Pine -oak forest, tropical thorn forest, and semiarid deciduous vegetation have also been identified as collecting sites.<ref name="Campbell (1974)" /><ref name="Axtell (1958)">Axtell, Ralph W. 1958. ''A northward range extension for the lizard Anelytropsis papillosis, with some notes on the distribution and habits of several other Mexican lizards.''  Herpetologica 14(4): 189–191.</ref> It has been found under boulders, rocks, and stones, under fallen logs, burrowing in rotten logs, and under dead yucca trees.<ref name="Smith (1935)" /><ref name="Mendoza-Quijano et al. (1993)">Mendoza-Quijano, Fernando, Efrín Hernández Garcia, and Walter Schmidt Ballardo. 1993. ''Anelytropsis papillosus (Mexican Blind Lizard) México: Hidalgo.'' Herpetological Review 24(2): 66 p.</ref><ref name="Torres-Cervantes et al. (2004)" /> The distribution of the species falls mostly within the Mexican ecoregions of the tropical [[Veracruz moist forests]], the [[Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests]], and southwestern portions of the [[Meseta Central matorral]].

==Conservation status==
The Mexican Federal Government list ''Anelytropsis papillosus'' as a threatened species and it is protected by Mexican law.<ref name="SEMARNAT (2019)">SEMARNAT (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales). 2019. Norma Official Mexicana, [https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5578808&fecha=14/11/2019 NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2019, protección ambiental-especies nativas de México de flora y fauna silvestre-categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para su inclusión, exclusión o cambio-lista de especies en riesgo.] Diario Oficial de la Federación. México, D.F., Mexico.</ref> In a conservation evaluation using Environmental Vulnerability Scores (EVS) [low, 3–9; medium, 10–13; high, 14–20], ''Anelytropsis papillosus'' was rated 10, a species of medium vulnerability.<ref name="Wilson et al. (2013)">Wilson,  Larry  D.,  Vicente Mata-Silva, and  Jerry  D.  Johnson.  2013. ''A  conservation reassessment of the reptiles of Mexico based on the EVS measure.'' Special  Mexico Issue.  Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): 1–47.</ref>{{rp|17 p.}} Conversely, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ranked ''Anelytropsis papillosus'' as a species of least concern.

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB genus |genus=Anelytropsis |date=6 November |year=2017}}</ref>
}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Anelytropsis}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q19938963}}

[[Category:Dibamidae]]
[[Category:Lizard genera]]
[[Category:Endemic reptiles of Mexico]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1885]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Sierra Madre Oriental]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert]]