Afrotyphlops schmidti (Laurent, 1956)

Conradie, Werner, Baptista, Ninda L., Verburgt, Luke, Keates, Chad, Harvey, James, Júlio, Timóteo & Neef, Götz, 2021, Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 1: Serpentes (snakes), Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 292) 15 (2), pp. 244-278 : 254

Afrotyphlops schmidti (Laurent, 1956)

Schmidt’s Blind Snake ( Fig. 6 , Map 4)

Material: PEM R 23993, en route to Lungwebungu River, Moxico Province, -12.44190° 18.62826°, 1,419 m asl; PEM R 23979, Lungwebungu River, -12.58131° 18.66378°, 1,298 m asl. Description: Midbody scale rows 22 and 24; 347 and 336 ventral scales; 9 and 10 subcaudals. Largest specimen: 435 + 5.9 mm. Habitat and natural history notes: Two specimens were collected in Miombo woodland, both actively moving in the early morning. Comment: One of these specimens was featured in Branch (2018), but under the incorrect name A. mucruso . Re-examination of the material confirms it to be assignable to A. schmidti based on the key provided by Broadley and Wallach (2009). Broadley and Wallach (2009) discussed the complex taxonomic history of the species. Broadley et al. (2003) mention that material from western Zambia and the DRC, including the holotype from Katanga, are blotched, similar to our material. The only other material for Angola is from the eastern part of the country (Calundo and Cazombo: Laurent 1964).

Figures

Fig. 6. Afrotyphlops schmidti from Lungwebungu River. Photo by Werner Conradie.