Lycophidion nanum (BROADLEY, 1968)

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Higher Taxa	Lamprophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names
Synonym	Cryptolycus nanus BROADLEY 1968 Lycophidion nanum — BROADLEY 1996: 14 Lycophidion nanum — THOMAS & GRIESSEL 1999 Lycophidion nanus — SPAWLS et al. 2002: 265 Lycophidion nanum — WALLACH et al. 2014: 410
Distribution	C Mozambique, Zimbabwe, S Mozambique Type locality: Xiluvo, Manica e Sofala District, Mozambique at ca. 250 m.
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Holotype: NMZB, previously UM 6988, an adult male. Collected byL. A. Balarin and D. G . Broadley,· 3rd December, 1963.
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: Nostril pierced in the middle of an entire nasal; no postnasal. Dorsal scales with single apical pits, in 17 rows, reducing to 15 rows about one head length before the vent; ventrals 151-161 in males, 160-164 in females; subcaudals 25-28 in males, 21-23 in females. Preocular 1; postoculars 1 or 2; temporals usually 1+2, rarely 1+1 or 0+2; supralabials 6-7 (8 on one side of 2 specimens, 5 on one side of NMZB-UM 20337), the 3rd and 4th (rarely 3rd, 4th and 5th or 2nd and 3rd) entering the orbit, infralabials 6 (rarely 5 or 7), the first four (rarely 5, or third excluded as on the left side of the holotype) in contact with the anterior sublinguals. Several specimens have unusual fusions: NMZB-UM 20702 has the postoculars and anterior temporal fused with supralabials 4 and 5 on both sides, NMZB-UM 6991 has the anterior temporal fused with the fifth supralabial on the right side and the posterior temporals fused with the scale on the nape. Skull short, without parietal crests (Broadley 1996: 15).
Comment	Broadley (1996) synonymized Cryptolycus with Lycophidion. This species is extremely adapted to a burrowing life style and some studies suggest that it feeds exclusively on Chirindia, a genus of amphisbaenians. No information in Wallach (unpubl.). THOMAS & GRIESSEL 1999 is a web site. Distribution: Map: Broadley 1996
References	Broadley, D. & Blaylock 2013. The Snakes of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 387 pp. [book review in Sauria 35 (2): 59 and Copeia 2014: 388] - get paper here Broadley, D.G. 1968. The African Wolf Snakes (Serpentes, Colubridae): a new genus and species from Mozambique. Arnoldia (Rhodesia) 10 (4): 1-5 Broadley, D.G. 1996. A revision of the genus Lycophidion Fitzinger (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Africa south of the equator. Syntarsus 3: 1-33. - get paper here 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 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.
External links	IUCN Red List Google images

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