| Letheobia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Typhlopidae |
| Subfamily: | Afrotyphlopinae |
| Genus: | Letheobia Cope, 1868 |
Letheobia is a genus of blind snakes in the family Typhlopidae. [1]
In 1869, the genus Letheobia was established by Edward Drinker Cope based primarily on two specimens of Letheobia pallida from Zanzibar, but later also including Letheobia caeca (originally Onychocephalus cæcus Duméril, 1856) from Gabon. Wilhelm Peters, in 1874 when describing Onychocephalus lumbriciformis from Zanzibar and in 1878 Typhlops unitaeniatus from Kenya, considered Letheobia to be a subgenus. Nonetheless, in 1881, Peters selected Letheobia caecaDuméril as the type species for the genus. In 1883, Boulenger decided that at best Letheobia was a subgenus of Typhlops, and placed it as a junior synonym. Later in reconstructing Rhinotyphlops in 1974, Roux-Estève moved all of Letheobia species into Rhinotyphlops, mostly into her Groups IV, V and VI. However, molecular studies in the 2000s showed that Rhinotyphlops, as conceived by Roux-Estève (1974), was polyphyletic, and that many if not all of Groups V and VI constituted a separate genus, for which the name Letheobia had priority. [2] In 2007 Broadley and Wallach formally revived the genus Letheobia. In 2013, Pyron et al. considered with some certainty that Letheobia was a sister group to the combined genera Afrotyphlops and Megatyphlops, while the three were then sister to Rhinotyphlops, and the four were the sister to Typhlops. [3]
The genus Letheobia contains the following 37 species which are recognized as being valid. [4]
Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Letheobia.
The specific name, pauwelsi, is in honor of Belgian herpetologist Olivier Sylvain Gérard Pauwels. [5]
The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel-like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since they have no use for vision, their eyes are mostly vestigial. They have light-detecting black eye spots, and teeth occur in the upper jaw. Typhlopids do not have dislocatable lower jaw articulations restricting them to prey smaller than their oral aperture. The tail ends with a horn-like scale. Most of these species are oviparous. Currently, 18 genera are recognized containing over 200 species.
The Angolan giant blind snake, also known as the anomalous beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the Typhlopidae family. It is endemic to Angola. Its classification was changed from Rhinotyphlops to Megatyphlops when Rhinotyphlops was found to be polyphyletic. In 2014 Megatyphlops was changed to Afrotyphlops.
Rhinotyphlops boylei, commonly known as Boyle's beaked blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
The Gabon beaked snake is a species of blind snake in the family Typhlopidae. It is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is known from Gabon, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ghana. However, the identity of different populations is not fully clear.
Cross's beaked snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to West Africa.
The St. Thomas beaked snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to the Gulf of Guinea off the western coast of Central Africa.
Letheobia graueri, also known commonly as the Lake Tanganyika gracile blind snake, Grauer's gracile blind snake, Sternfeld's beaked snake, and Grauer's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to central and eastern Africa.
Letheobia newtoni is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae.
The Zanzibar beaked snake is a species of blind snake in the Typhlopidae family. It is endemic to Africa.
Rhinotyphlops scorteccii, commonly known as Scortecci's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Somalia.
Stejneger's beaked snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to Middle Africa.
Letheobia wittei, also known commonly as De Witte's gracile blind snake or Witte's beaked snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Africa.
Steinhaus's worm snake is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to Central Africa.
Afrotyphlops schlegelii, commonly known as Schlegel's beaked blind snake or Schlegel's giant blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is endemic to eastern and southern Africa, and bears the distinction of being the world's largest typhlopid. It is harmless to humans and lives exclusively on a diet of termites.
Van Stanley Bartholomew Wallach is an American herpetologist and an expert on blindsnakes and on the systematics, internal anatomy, and taxonomy of snakes. He has contributed to the descriptions of at least 46 species of snakes and has conducted fieldwork on tropical snakes in the Philippines, Nicaragua, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Afrotyphlops is a genus of snakes in the family Typhlopidae.
Afrotyphlops blanfordii, or Blanford's blind-snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species is native to the Horn of Africa.