Emin Pasha's worm snake

Emin Pasha's worm snake (Leptotyphlops emini) is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae.^[3][4] The species is native to northern East Africa.^[2]

Emin Pasha's worm snake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Leptotyphlopidae
Genus:	Leptotyphlops
Species:	L. emini
Binomial name
Leptotyphlops emini (Boulenger, 1890)
Synonyms[2]
Glauconia emini Boulenger, 1890 Stenostoma emini — Tornier, 1896 Glauconia monticola Chabanaud, 1916 Leptotyphlops emini — Loveridge, 1933

Etymology

The specific name, emini, is in honor of German-born physician Eduard Schnitzer, who worked in the Ottoman Empire and became known as Emin Pasha.^[5]

Geographic range

L. emini is found in Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of L. emini are savanna and shrubland, at altitudes of 650–1,370 m (2,130–4,490 ft).^[1]

Description

L. emini is uniformly blackish in color. It has 14 rows of scales around the body. Adults may attain a total length (including tail) of 11 cm (4.3 in).^[6]

Behavior

L. emini is terrestrial and fossorial.^[1]

Reproduction

L. emini is oviparous.^[2]

References

1. Kusamba, C. (2021). "Leptotyphlops emini ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T21584272A21584290. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T21584272A21584290.en. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
2. "Leptotyphlops emini ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series), ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
4. "Leptotyphlops ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Leptotyphlops emini, p. 83).
6. Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I. Containing the Families ... Glauconiidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Glauconia emini, p. 64 + Plate III, figures 8a, 8b, 8c).

Further reading

• Adalsteinsson SA, Branch WR, Trape S, Vitt LJ, Hedges SB (2009). "Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of snakes of the family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata)". Zootaxa 2244: 1–50.
• Boulenger GA (1890). "Description of a new Snake of the Genus Glauconia, Gray, obtained by Dr. Emin Pasha on the Victoria Nyanza". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 6: 91–93. (Glauconia emini, new species, p. 91).
• Chabanaud P (1916). "Énumération des Ophidiens non encore étudiés de l'Afrique occidentale, appartenant aux Collections du Muséum avec le description des espèces et des variétés nouvelles ". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 22: 362–382. (Glauconia monticola, new species, pp. 366–367, Figures 7–9). (in French).
• Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618. (Leptotyphlops emini, p. 366).