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Leptotyphlops macrops (BROADLEY & WALLACH, 1996)

IUCN Red List - Leptotyphlops macrops - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaLeptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlopinae, Leptotyphlopini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Goggle-eyed worm snake 
SynonymGlauconia emini — STERNFELD 1908: 242
Glauconia longicauda — ANGEL 1925: 30.
Leptotyphlops conjunctus conjunctus — SPAWLS 1978: 2 (part.)
Leptotyphlops nigricans — HALLERMANN & RÖDEL, 1995: 5
Leptotyphlops macrops BROADLEY & WALLACH 1996
Leptotyphlops macrops — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 35
Leptotyphlops macrops — BROADLEY & WALLACH 2007: 33
Leptotyphlops macrops — ADALSTEINSSON, BRANCH, TRAPE, VITT & HEDGES 2009
Leptotyphlops macrops — WALLACH et al. 2014: 368
Leptotyphlops macrops — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 368 
DistributionKenya, Tanzania

Type locality: Mkwaja Forests, Pangani District, Tanga Region, Tanzania (05°52’S, 38°47’E, elevation below 100 m).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NMZB 11352, collected by A. Cockle, 10 September 1991; allotype in ZMUC 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A member of the Leptotyphlops nigricans species group, distinguished from all others except L. howelli and L. pembae by the large eye beneath a bulge in the ocular shield and higher counts for both middorsals and subcaudals. It differs from L. howelli and L. pembae in its more numerous middorsals (272–313 vs 229–269) and lacking white patches on chin and throat. (Broadley & Wallach 2007)


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CommentLeptotyphlops macrops is distinguished from all other species in the genus by the combination of a very large eye beneath a dome in the ocular shield and the presence of a unipartite testis. Leptotyphlops macrops is provisionally included in the L. longicaudus group and seems to be most closely related to L. emini, which on the basis of its paired parietal bones is a valid species rather than a synonym of L. nigricans (List, 1966). It differs from L. howelli and L. pembae in its more numerous middorsals (272–1 vs 229–269) and lacking white patches on chin and throat (BROADLEY & WALLACH 2007).

Habitat. Coastal forest and environs. 
EtymologyNamed after Greek makros (μακρός) = large, and Greek opsis, opseos = eye, face, appearance, for its relatively large eyes. 
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
  • Angel, Fernand 1925. Résultats Scientifiques. Vertebrata. Reptiles et Batraciens. [Mabuia (Mabuiopsis) jeanneli, Lygosoma graueri quinquedigitata, Ablepharus massaiensis]. In: Voyage de Ch. Alluaud et R. Jeannel en Afrique Orientale (1911-1912). - Paris, 2: 1-63.
  • Broadley, D.G. & V. Wallach 1996. A remarkable new worm snake (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) from the East African Coast. Copeia 1996 (1): 162-166 - 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
  • Hahn D. E. & V. WALLACH, 1998. Comments on the systematics of Old World Leptotyphlops (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae), with description of a new species. Hamadryad 23: 50-62 - get paper here
  • Hallermann, J. & M. O. Roedel 1995. A new species of Leptotyphlops (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) of the longicaudus-group from West Africa. Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk. Ser. A. (Biol.) 532: 1-8. - 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
  • Malonza, Patrick K.; David M. Mulwa, Joash O. Nyamache, Georgina Jones 2017. Biogeography of the Shimba Hills ecosystem herpetofauna in Kenya. Zoological Research 38(5): 1-11 - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Spawls, S. 1978. A checklist of the snakes of Kenya. East Afr. Natur. Hist. Soc. and Natl. Mus., Nairobi, J. no. 167 18 pp.
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - 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.
 
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