Letheobia debilis (Joger)

Wallach, Van, 2007, A review of East and Central African species of Letheobia Cope, revived from the synonymy of Rhinotyphlops Fitzinger, with descriptions of five new species (Serpentes: Typhlopidae), Zootaxa 1515, pp. 31-68 : 50

Letheobia debilis (Joger)

( Fig 6 A)

Feeble gracile blind-snake Description. Snout slightly hooked, prominent. Rostral very broad, truncated posteriorly; frontal broad and shallow, not contacting the nasals; supraocular large, transverse, its lateral apex wedged between nasal and ocular, which is separated from the subocular by a temporal; eye not visible; nasal suture arising from first labial; SIP II (N1, P, S, S); scale rows 20 (rarely 18) at midbody; MD 547-668; vertebrae 443 in holotype; MD/V ratio 1.41; L/D ratio 98–129. Rosy-tan in colour.

Size. Largest specimen (MNHN 1998.268 – Central African Republic) 478 mm in total length.

Habitat. Lowland rain forest.

Distribution. Southern Central African Republic, 450–800 m ( Fig. 11 ).

Localities. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUB LIC. No locality MNHN 1998.268; Bangui HLMD 1450; MNHN 1991.377-78, 1997. 3196; ZFMK 33684 (holotype); Mboki MNHN 1997.3195.

Figures

FIGURE 6. The Letheobia gracilis complex: dorsal, lateral and ventral views of head of: A. L. debilis (ZFMK 33684, holotype – Bangui, Central African Republic, after Joger, 1990: Fig. 3); B. L. kibarae (IRSNB 2201, holotype – Kaswabilenga, Democratic Republic of Congo, after Witte, 1953: Fig. 35); C. L. graueri (MCZ 30034 – Rwanda, near Ujiji, Tanzania, J. Boundy illustration). The lines indicate 1 mm to scale.

FIGURE 11. Distribution of the north-central African species of Letheobia and L. jubana in north-east Africa (inset, top left).