Abstract
Studies on the cephalic myology of snakes provide a series of relevant data on their biology and systematics. Despite the great amount of descriptive studies currently available for the group, much of the knowledge remains obscure for most scolecophidian taxa. This study aimed to describe in detail the cephalic (head and neck) myology of members of the tribe Epictinae, Leptotyphlopidae. We provide the first report of the presence of extrinsic ocular muscles, and a double Musculus pterygoideus acessorius in Leptotyphlopidae. A well-developed M. levator anguli oris is exclusive to the subtribes Renina and Epictina, being reduced in Tetracheilostomina species. Both inter- and intraspecific variations are reported for the head and neck muscles, and such results provide additional data and raise an interesting discussion on the neck-trunk boundaries in snakes. We also provide a discussion on the terminology of a few head muscles in Leptoyphlopidae in comparison to the other lineages of ´Scolecophidia´ (Anomalepididae and Typhlopoidea).
Highlights
The threadsnakes of the family Leptotyphlopidae currently comprise about 140 recognized species that occur in the sub-Saharan Africa (Leptotyphlopinae and Rhinoleptini) and in the New World (Americas and Antilles), with the subfamily Epictinae containing about 90 species allocated in nine currently recognized genera [1]
We provide a detailed cephalic myology for members of the tribe Epictinae in comparison to other lineages of ‘Scolecophidia’
The drastic reconstruction of the jaw muscles from the lizard to ophidian condition have led to several losses and fusions of bundles present in “lizards” [23], and such modifications obscure the interpretation of several remaining muscular bundles in snakes [22]
Summary
The threadsnakes of the family Leptotyphlopidae currently comprise about 140 recognized species that occur in the sub-Saharan Africa (Leptotyphlopinae and Rhinoleptini) and in the New World (Americas and Antilles), with the subfamily Epictinae containing about 90 species allocated in nine currently recognized genera [1]. Despite the ancient cladogenesis event and the separation between these two main lineages of Leptotyphlopidae [2], all living species present an entirely fossorial lifestyle, actively eating on larvae or adults of social insects [3,4,5]. Leptotyphlopids fully ingest their prey through a very specialized food intake mechanism named mandibular raking [6], contrasting with the feeding mechanism of the alethinophidian snakes called pterygoidal walk (see [4]).
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