Blanus mariae
{{Short description|Species of amphisbaenian}}
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| genus = Blanus
| species = mariae
| authority = Albert & Fernández, 2009
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Maria's worm lizard (Blanus mariae) is an amphisbaenian species in the family Blanidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.
Geographic range
Blanus mariae is found in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, mainly in the southern half of Portugal and in the spanish autonomous communities of Extremadura and western Andalusia.{{NRDB species|genus=Blanus|species=mariae|accessdate=8 July 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/reptiles/blamar.html |title=Blanus mariae |publisher=Albert y Fernández, 2009 |accessdate=September 14, 2020}}
Taxonomy
Blanus mariae forms a cryptic species complex with Blanus cinereus.{{cite journal|title=An amphisbaenian skull from the European Miocene and the evolution of Mediterranean worm lizards|first1=Arnau|last1=Bolet|first2=Massimo|last2=Delfino|first3=Josep|last3=Fortuny|first4=Sergio|last4=Almécija|first5=Josep M.|last5=Robles|first6=David M.|last6=Alba|date=4 June 2014|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0098082|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=6|page=e98082|pmid=24896828|pmc=4045672|bibcode=2014PLoSO...998082B|doi-access=free}}
Etymology
The specific name, mariae, is in honour of Maria del Rosario Aguilar Tortajada (1914–2002), the grandmother of Eva María Albert, one of the scientists who described this species.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (Blanus mariae, pp. 168-169).
Description
References
{{Reflist|2}}
Further reading
Albert, Eva M.; Fernández, Adrián (2009). "Evidence of cryptic speciation in a fossorial reptile: description of a new species of Blanus (Squamata: Amphisbaenia: Blanidae) from the Iberian Peninsula". Zootaxa 2234: 56-68. (Blanus mariae, new species).
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Category:Reptiles described in 2009
Category:Taxa named by Eva María Albert
Category:Taxa named by Adrián Fernández (herpetologist)