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Tetracheilostoma breuili (HEDGES, 2008)

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Higher TaxaLeptotyphlopidae, Epictinae, Epictini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Saint Lucia Threadsnake, St. Lucia Threadsnake 
SynonymLeptotyphlops breuili HEDGES 2008
Tetracheilostoma breuili — ADALSTEINSSON, BRANCH, TRAPE, VITT & HEDGES 2009
Tetracheilostoma breuili — WALLACH et al. 2014: 714 
DistributionSt. Lucia

Type locality: under rock on ground on north slope of Maria Major Island, St. Lucia (Fig. 2A), 60 m elevation (13° 43.430’ N, 60° 55.897’ W).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 564810, adult male, collected on 13 June 2006 by S. Blair Hedges and Carla Ann Hass. Field tag number 267731. Paratypes. USNM 564811–812 from type locality; 564813–814 from Anse Galet (near Anse La Raye),
St. Lucia, 5 m (13° 56.080’ N, 61° 02.950’ W); 222954 from 0.1 mi E Anse Galet River; 564815–817 from 1.6 km N Praslin, St. Lucia, 40 m (13° 52.875’ N, 60° 53.418’ W); Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (MCZ) 10693 from St. Lucia (exact locality unknown). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A small species of the genus, reaching 113 mm maximum TOL (preserved specimens); up to 119 mm TOL in live specimens (Buley et al., 1997). It is a member of the West Indian bilineatus group having two dorsolateral lines, most closely related to Leptotyphlops bilineatus and L. carlae. It differs from both in having a typical pattern of two spots behind the head and a dark tail (Fig. 2A–B). In scale characters it also differs from both species in having a wider PA1 (width/length 2.08–2.28 vs. 1.56–1.93) and a wider PA2 (2.03–2.48 vs. 1.71–2.01). In addition, it differs from L. bilineatus in having a wider SO (0.99– 1.16 vs. 0.78–0.99), a shorter OC (0.63–0.76 vs. 0.78–0.84), and shorter anterior middorsals, PF+FR+IP+IO (2.07–2.28 vs. 2.28–2.55). From L. carlae, it differs in the three characters noted above in the diagnosis of that species. Measurements and scale counts, including those of the holotype, are in Table 1 of HEDGES 2008. 
Comment 
EtymologyThe species name is dedicated to Michel Breuil for his contributions to the herpetology of the Lesser Antilles. 
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
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Hedges, S.B. 2008. At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles. Zootaxa 1841: 1–30 - get paper here
  • Thorpe, R.S. 2022. Reptiles of the Lesser Antilles. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 608 pp. - 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.
 
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