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Leposternon microcephalum WAGLER, 1824

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Higher TaxaAmphisbaenidae, Amphisbaenia, Lacertoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Smallhead Worm Lizard
Portuguese: Cobra-de-Duas-Cabeças, Cobra-Cega 
SynonymLeposternon microcephalus WAGLER 1824: 70
Amphisbaena punctata WIED 1825: 500
Leposternon microcephalum FITZINGER 1826
Lepidosternon maximiliani WIEGMANN 1834: 21
Amphisbaena punctata — GERVAIS 1837
Lepidosternon microcephalum — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 505
Lepidosternon macrocephalum — SMITH 1848: 67 (in errore)
Lepidosternon phocaena DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 507
Lepidosternon microcephalum — GRAY 1865: 374
Lepidosternon phocaena — GRAY 1865: 375
Lepidosternon petersi STRAUCH 1881
Lepidosternon pfefferi WERNER 1910: 35
Lepidosternum phocaena — WERNER 1910: 36
Lepidosternon crassum STRAUCH 1881
Lepidosternon güntheri STRAUCH 1881
Leposternon guntheri — GANS 1967
Lepidosternum boulengeri BOETTGER 1885: 220
Lepidosternum strauchi BOETTGER 1885: 221
Lepidosternum affine BOETTGER 1885: 223
Lepidosternon boettgeri BOULENGER 1885
Lepidosternum onychocephalum BOETTGER 1885: 224
Lepidosternum latifrontale BOULENGER 1894: 345
Lepidosternum affine — GÜNTHER 1897: 365
Lepidosternum borelli PERACCA 1895
Lepidosternum camerani PERACCA 1895
Lepidosternon phocaena — KOSLOWSKY 1898
Lepidosternon laticeps PERACCA 1904
Lepidosternon carcani PERACCA 1904
Lepidosternon phocoena — BRYGOO 1990: 13 (as synonym)
Leposternon microcephalum — DIRKSEN & DE LA RIVA 2000
Amphisbaena microcephalum — MOTT & VIEITES 2009
Amphisbaena microcephala — OLIVEIRA et al. 2010
Amphisbaena microcephala — ARAUJO et al. 2011
Leposternon microcephalum — AVILA et al. 2010
Leposternon microcephalum — AVILA et al. 2013
Leposternon microcephalum — CACCIALI et al. 2016 
DistributionBrazil (Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Espírito Santo),
Bolivia (Cochabamba, Santa Cruz), Paraguay, Uruguay,
N Argentina (Formosa, Chaco, Corrientes, Misiones, Entre Rios)

Type locality: ‘‘Dans les environs du village Mandiocca,. . . près de la montagne dos Orgaôs, sur un grand chemin bordé d’arbres,’’ Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZSM 3150/0.
Type: MSNTO R240 [Lepidosternum borelli PERACCA 1895]
Type: MSNTO R237 [Lepidosternum camerani PERACCA 1895]
Type: MSNTO R244 [Lepidosternon laticeps PERACCA 1904]
Type: MSNTO R238 [Lepidosternon carcani PERACCA 1904]
Lectotype: MZUSP 28386 [Lepidosternum latifrontale Boulenger, 1885]
Holotype: ZMB-R 1395 [Lepidosternon maximiliani Wiegmann, 1834]
Holotype: ZMB-R 1396 [Lepidosternon petersi Strauch, 1881] Holotype: MNHN 488 (= MHNP) [Lepidosternon phocaena Duméril & Bibron, 1839]
Holotype: ZISP (also as ZIL) 6654 [Lepidosternum affine Boettger, 1885]
Holotype: ZISP (also as ZIL) 6656 [Lepidosternum boulengeri Boettger, 1885]
Holotype: ZISP (also as ZIL) 316 [Lepidosternon crassum Strauch, 1881]
Holotype: ZISP (also as ZIL) 313 [Lepidosternon güntherii Strauch, 1881]
Holotype: ZISP (also as ZIL) 6653 [Lepidosternum onycocephalum Boettger, 1885]
Holotype: ZISP (also as ZIL) 6655 [Lepidosternum strauchi Boettger, 1885] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): relatively large and robust body, head dorsoventrally compressed, nostrils opening on the ventral surface of snout, suture connecting each nostril to the edge of mouth, nasal shield absent, rostronasal shield followed by a sequence of one to five enlarged shields along the dorsal surface of head, gular portion without segmental cover, more than two dermal annuli per vertebrae, tail very short with rounded tip, autotomic site absent on tail, and none to four preocloacal pores (Ribeiro et al., 2008, Ribeiro et al. 2011).


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CommentSynonymy: In a radical move, Gans (1971) synonymized most species of Leposternon with Leposternon microcephalum. See his discussion for detailed explanations.

Type species: Leposternon microcephalus WAGLER 1824 is the type species of the genus Leposternon WAGLER 1824, which was synonymized with Amphisbaena by MOTT & VIEITES 2009 (but considered as valid by most authors, see synonymy). Leposternon is of neutral gender (Schlegel 1826). 
EtymologyNamed after Greek mikros (μικρός), small + Greek kéfali (κεφάλη), head. (WAGLER 1824, Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., April 2024)

The genus was named after Greek lepos (λέπος), rind, husk, scale + Greek sternon (στέρνον), breast, chest, probably after the long scales in the chest area [“...Caput et sternum scutata...”]. 
References
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