Madatyphlops may represent a surviving clade of the ancestral Typhlopidae, which are thought to have originated on Madagascar during the
Cretaceous, before later dispersing to mainland
Africa and then worldwide. This makes it, Xenotyphlops, and the
Madagascan big-headed turtle the only Malagasy terrestrial vertebrates whose isolation on Madagascar is due to
Gondwananvicariance.[1]
Geographic range
The 15 species of the genus Madatyphlops are found mostly on
Madagascar, but also occur on the
Comoro Islands. A fossil species occurred on
Mauritius.
Species
The following species are recognized as being valid.[2]
Hedges, S. Blair; Marion, Angela B.; Lipp, Kelly M.; Marin, Julie; Vidal, Nicolas (2014). "A taxonomic framework for typhlopid snakes from the Caribbean and other regions (Reptilia, Squamata)". Caribbean Herpetology49: 1-61. (Madatyphlops, new genus, p. 42).