A new species of gracile blind snake in the genus Letheobia (Squamata: Scolecophidia: Typhlopidae) from Sagalla Hill, south-eastern Kenya

The members of the typhlopid Letheobia pallida group are characterised by having a divided or split ocular scale. Letheobia wrayi sp. nov., differs from all other members of this group by having a low mid-dorsal scale count of 355 (other taxa 376-670). It also has a rostral which is rounded, not tru...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAfrican journal of herpetology Vol. 73; no. 1; pp. 28 - 35
Main Author Malonza, Patrick K
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis 02.01.2024
Subjects
burrowing
Kenya
Letheobia pallida
Taita Hills
Typhlopidae
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Summary:The members of the typhlopid Letheobia pallida group are characterised by having a divided or split ocular scale. Letheobia wrayi sp. nov., differs from all other members of this group by having a low mid-dorsal scale count of 355 (other taxa 376-670). It also has a rostral which is rounded, not truncated posteriorly, and its nasal suture arises from the base of the first (not second) labial. In the new species the number of middorsal scales is similar to that of L. swahilica, but it is larger in total body length (245 mm compared to 190 mm). Letheobia wrayi sp. nov., differs from L. toritensis and L. pallida that have > 400 mid-dorsals. The new species can be distinguished from L. mbeerensis (mid-dorsals > 600, long tail 2.9% vs 1.2% short tail). It is known only from the holotype collected on the Sagalla Hill-Taita Hills at an elevation of about 1 100 m within a dry deciduous forest zone.
ISSN:2156-4574
2153-3660
DOI:10.1080/21564574.2023.2279710