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Leptotyphlops scutifrons (PETERS, 1854)

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Higher TaxaLeptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlopinae, Leptotyphlopini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Peter's Thread Snake 
SynonymStenostoma scutifrons PETERS 1854: 621
Glauconia scutifrons — BOULENGER 1890
Glauconia scutifrons — BOULENGER 1893: 68
Glauconia scutifrons — WERNER 1910: 354
Glauconia okahandjana AHL 1924
Leptotyphlops scutifrons — FITZSIMONS 1935
Leptotyphlops scutifrons — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958
Leptotyphlops scutifrons scutifrons — BROADLEY & WATSON 1976: 497
Leptotyphlops scutifrons scutifrons — AUERBACH 1987: 149
Leptotyphlops scutifrons scutifrons — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 22
Leptotyphlops scutifrons — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 41
Leptotyphlops scutifrons scutifrons — BROADLEY & BROADLEY 1999: 23
Leptotyphlops scutifrons scutifrons — BROADLEY & WALLACH 2007: 64
Leptotyphlops scutifrons — ADALSTEINSSON, BRANCH, TRAPE, VITT & HEDGES 2009
Leptotyphlops scutifrons scutifrons — BROADLEY & BLAYLOCK 2013
Leptotyphlops scutifrons — WALLACH et al. 2014: 369
Leptotyphlops cf. scutifrons — SANTOS et al. 2021 
DistributionAngola, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Zambia, Uganda

Type locality: “Sena” [Mozambique], “Benguella (Westafrika)” [Angola]  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: ZMB 4826 (lost fide HAHN 1980), possibly ZMB 5706
Lectotype: SMNS 4170, collected by H. Merker, 1904–1905. [merkeri]
Holotype: BMNH 1935.10.11.4; Collected by C.R.S. Pitman, July 1935 [pitmani] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (scutifrons). A species with the prefrontal fused with the rostral, forming a large shield, unguiform in dorsal view, which is more than a third width of head at level of posterior borders of eyes and in good contact with supraoculars; anterior supralabial present; occipitals entire. Tail usually with 10 rows of scales, terminating abruptly in terminal spine. Colouration uniform black above and below [from BROADLEY & WATSON 1976].


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CommentSynonymy: from several sources and possibly in need of review. L. latifrons is now considered as a valid species (but was previously synonymized with L. scutifrons). WALLACH et al. 2014: list Leptotyphlops pitmani and L. merkeri as synonyms of L. scutifrons. However, neither L. pitmani nor L. merkeri were closely related to L. scutifrons in the phylogenetic analysis of Adalsteinsson et al. 2009, hence we leave them as separate species for the time being.

Subspecies: Leptotyphlops scutifrons pitmani BROADLEY & WALLACH 2007 and Leptotyphlops scutifrons merkeri (WERNER 1909) have been elevated to full species status.

Distribution: not in East Africa (i.e. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi fide S. Spawls, pers. comm., 28 June 2018) 
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
  • Ahl, E. 1924. Neue Reptilien und Batrachier aus dem zoologischen Museum Berlin. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 90 (A) 5: 246-254
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  • Behangana, M., Ayebare, S., Magala, R., Lukwago, W., Ssekisambu, R. S., Alezuyo, C., ... & Hughes, D. 2023. Establishing baseline data for herpetofauna in western Uganda, an East African biodiversity hotspot: Reptile and amphibian diversity in Uganda. Herpetology Notes, 16, 773-789
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  • Farooq, Harith; Cristóvão Nanvonamuquitxo, Bibiana Nassongole, Werner Conradie, Roger Bills, Amadeu Soares, and Alexandre Antonelli 2022. Shedding Light on a Biodiversity Dark Spot: Survey Of Amphibians and Reptiles of Pemba Region in Northern Mozambique. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 17 (2): - get paper here
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