Renina Hedges, Adalsteinsson, & Branch

Adalsteinsson, Solny A., Branch, William R., Trape, Sébastien, Vitt, Laurie J. & Hedges, S. Blair, 2009, Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of snakes of the Family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata), Zootaxa 2244, pp. 1-50 : 19

Subtribe Renina Hedges, Adalsteinsson, & Branch , New Subtribe

Type genus. Rena Baird and Girard, 1853: 142 . Type species: Rena humilus Baird and Girard, 1853 , by subsequent designation by Stejneger, 1892 [dated 1891]: 501.

Diagnosis. Renina is distinguished from Epictina by having small supraoculars (versus absent or normalsized in Epictina), lacking a striped pattern, and having a uniform brown (usually dark brown) dorsum, sometimes purplish but not with reds or yellows ( Table 1). Renina is distinguished from Tetracheilostomina by having 2–3 ( Rena ) or 3 ( Tricheilostoma ) supralabials versus usually 4 in Tetracheilostomina (one species has 3–4 supralabials). The support for this group was 100% BP and 100% PP for the four-gene tree ( Fig. 3); only one species was included in the nine-gene tree ( Fig. 4).

Content. Two genera and 20 species ( Table 1).

Distribution. Renina is distributed in the New World from North America (California, Utah, and Kansas) south through Middle and South America (exclusive of the high Andes) to Uruguay and Argentina on the Atlantic side.

Remarks. Renina includes the former macrolepis Group (now Tricheilostoma ) and dimidiatus Group (now Rena ) of " Leptotyphlops " ( Orejas-Miranda 1967; Peters 1970). These two genera are broadly similar in scalation and coloration, supporting the molecular phylogenetic results.