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Leptotyphlops aethiopicus BROADLEY & WALLACH, 2007

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Higher TaxaLeptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlopinae, Leptotyphlopini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Ethiopian worm snake 
SynonymLeptotyphlops aethiopicus BROADLEY & WALLACH 2007: 38
Glauconia emini — STERNFELD, 1908: 239
Glauconia emini — BOULENGER 1915: 643
Glauconia emini — SCORTECCI 1939: 128
? Glauconia cairi — BOULENGER 1906: 441
? Glauconia cairi — WERNER 1908: 42 (part.)
Leptotyphlops emini — PARKER 1949: 20.
Leptotyphlops emini emini — LOVERIDGE, 1957: 247 (part.).
Leptotyphlops nigricans — LARGEN & RASMUSSEN 1993: 325 (part)
Leptotyphlops aethiopicus — ADALSTEINSSON, BRANCH, TRAPE, VITT & HEDGES 2009
Leptotyphlops aethiopicus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 367
Leptotyphlops aethiopicus — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 366 
DistributionEthiopia (Harerge Region), 1900-2000 m elevation.

Type locality: near Harrar [= Harar], Harerge Region, Ethiopia (09°18’N, 42°08’E, elevation ca. 2000 m)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1911.12.13.17, collected by Kristensen. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A member of the Leptotyphlops nigricans species group, closest to to L. emini, but distinguished therefrom by its high middorsal count (239–261), slender build (total length/ diameter ratio 61–77) and white tail tip ventrally. (Broadley & Wallach 2007)


Additional details (1890 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentHabitat. When the holotype was collected there was probably some of the climax Juniperus woodland around Harer, but this whole area is now intensively cultivated. The climax vegetation southeast of Dire Dawa and near Yabelo would be Podocarpus forest. 
EtymologyThe specific name is derived from the Latin aethiopicus = of Ethiopia, as this species is endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. 
References
  • Adalsteinsson, S.A.; Branch, W.R.; Trapé, S.; Vitt, L.J. & Hedges, S.B. 2009. Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of snakes of the Family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata). Zootaxa 2244: 1-50 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1915. A list of the snakes of North-East Africa, from the Tropic to the Soudan and Somaliland, including Socotra. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1915: 641–65 - get paper here
  • Broadley, Donald G. & Wallach, V. 2007. A revision of the genus Leptotyphlops in northeastern Africa and southwestern Arabia (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae). Zootaxa 1408: 1–78 - get paper here
  • Hedges, S.B., Marion, A.B., Lipp, K.M., Marin, J. & Vidal, N. 2014. A taxonomic framework for typhlopid snakes from the Caribbean and other regions (Reptilia, Squamata). Caribbean Herpetology 49: 1–61 - get paper here
  • Largen, M.J.; Spawls, S. 2010. Amphibians and Reptiles of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 694 pp.
  • Largen,M.J. & Rasmussen,J.B. 1993. Catalogue of the snakes of Ethiopia (Reptilia Serpentes), including identification keys. Tropical Zoology 6: 313-434 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1957. Check list of the reptiles and amphibians of east Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar). Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 117 (2): 153-362 - get paper here
  • Parker,H.W. 1949. The snakes of Somaliland and the Sokotra islands. Zoologische Verhandelingen 6: 1-115 - get paper here
  • Scortecci, G. 1939. Reptilia. In: Missione Biologica nel Paese dei Borana. Volume secondo. Raccolte Zoologiche. Parte prima. Reale Accademia d’Italia, Roma, pp. 125–150
  • Spawls, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch & Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Sternfeld, R. 1908. Zur Schlangenfauna Ostafrikas. I. Schlangen aus Süd-Abessinien. II. Schlangen aus Britisch-Ostafrika. III. Schlangen aus Portugiesisch-Ostafrika. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 4(1): 236–247 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Werner, F. 1908. Ergebnisse der mit Subvention aus der Erbschaft Treitl unternommenen zoologischen Forschungsreise Dr. Franz Werner's nach nach dem Ägyptischen Sudan und Norduganda. XII. die Reptilien und Amphibien. [Mabuia mongallensis, Leptodira attarensis]. Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien 116 [1907]: 1823-1926 - get paper here
 
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