Leptotyphlops broadleyi, a new species of worm snake from Côte d'Ivoire (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae)

Abstract

WALLACH, V., and D.E. HAHN. 1997. Leptotyphlops broadleyi, a new species of worm snake from Côte d'Ivoire (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae). Afr. J. Herpetol. 46(2): 103–109. A new species of diminutive West African Leptotyphlops is described, based upon a series of 13 specimens from south-central Côte d'Ivoire. It resembles L. bicolor but differs in having a lower number of mid-dorsal scales, a relatively longer tail with higher number of subcaudals, an enlarged, hexagonal prefrontal (broader than deep and at least twice as large as supraocular), a tail terminating in a vertically compressed ridge, a relatively stouter body, and a smaller average and maximum size. The visceral anatomy is described, based upon a male and female paratype, and a key to the Leptotyphlops of Côte d'Ivoire is presented.