Leptotyphlops mbanjensis BROADLEY & WALLACH, 2007
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Leptotyphlops mbanjensis
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| Higher Taxa | Leptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlopinae, Leptotyphlopini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Mbanja worm snake |
| Synonym | Leptotyphlops mbanjensis BROADLEY & WALLACH 2007: 37 Leptotyphlops emini emini – LOVERIDGE 1942: 259 Leptotyphlops emini — SPAWLS et al. 2002: 393 (part). Leptotyphlops mbanjensis — ADALSTEINSSON, BRANCH, TRAPE, VITT & HEDGES 2009 Leptotyphlops mbanjensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 368 Leptotyphlops mbanjensis — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 369 |
| Distribution | Extreme SE Tanzania (Southern Province) Type locality: Mbanja, ca. 6 km N Lindi, Lindi District, Lindi Region, Southern Province, Tanzania (09°24’S, 39°45’E, 130 m elevation). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: MCZ 48040 (given as 45040), a female collected by A. Loveridge, 26 April 1939. Paratypes: MCZ. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A member of the Leptotyphlops nigricans species group, closely resembling L. emini but distinguished by its lower midddorsal counts and the presence of a triangular postparietal bone in the skull. (Broadley & Wallach 2007) |
| Comment | Description. Body cylindrical, head narrower than neck and body, short thick tail that abruptly tapers to a blunt cone. Snout rounded, rostral moderate (0.40–0.51 head width, mean = 0.45) and truncated posteriorly, wider than nasals and extending to a line connecting posterior edge of eyes, a preoral groove present ventrally. Behind rostral, upper lip bordered by infranasal (nostril nearer to rostral than supralabial along nasal suture), small anterior supralabial not reaching level of nostril and half as tall as infranasal with width along lip 1.5 times that of infranasal, large ocular with eye along anterior edge of upper half, and tall posterior supralabial. Supraoculars rectangular, oblique, subequal to frontal (broader transversely but narrowed longitudinally), which is narrower than postfrontal. Interoccipital broader than interparietal, which is broader than postfrontal. Parietals oblique, slightly broader than the enlarged fused occipitals, in contact with posterior supralabials. Temporal single. No mental. Body covered with 14 rows of smooth, imbricate, subequal scales. Reduction to 10 rows on the tail takes place lateral to the nearly triangular cloacal shield. Total middorsals 185–197, subcaudals 22–24. Total length/diameter ratio 38–54, total length/tail ratio 11.5–12.0. Dorsum and venter uniformly dark brown to blackish-brown with lower edge of supralabials and first pair of infralabials dirty white, posterior border of cloacal shield and adjacent scales dirty white. Skull with a triangular postparietal bone present. Habitat. Orchard forest with mango trees and waist-high grass (Loveridge, 1944). Loveridge (1942) reported specimens taken in rainy season by uprooting grass and scraping over the tent site. |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality. |
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