Leptotyphlops scutifrons (Peters, 1854)

Conradie, Werner, Bills, Roger & Branch, William R., 2016, The herpetofauna of the Cubango, Cuito, and lower Cuando river catchments of south-eastern Angola, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 126) 10 (2), pp. 6-36 : 23

Leptotyphlops scutifrons complex (Peters, 1854)

Peter’s Thread Snake

Material: PEM R 20020 (13).

Comment: Many earlier records from Angola attributed to L. scutifrons (e.g., Bocage 1895, 186; Boulenger 1905; Werner 1917) were referred to L. (= Namibiana ) latifrons ( Broadley and Broadley 1999). Monard (1937b) referred seven Angolan specimens, including one from Cuvangu, to this species. These were not discussed by Broadley and Broadley (1999), and although referred to L. scutifrons by Wallach et al. (2014) their identity requires confirmation. Our specimen is the second confirmed locality from Angola, following Broadley and Broadley’s (1999) record of new material from Chitau. We stress, however, that the status of the limited Angolan material, which involves large disjunctions between the known records and from the type locality (Tete, Mozambique), awaits further study, especially as the L. scutifrons complex has been shown to comprise numerous deep lineages that represent cryptic species ( Adalsteinsson et al. 2009).