Leptotyphlops telloi

Leptotyphlops telloi, also known commonly as Tello's threadsnake or Tello's worm snake, is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae.^[2][3] The species is indigenous to southern Africa.

Leptotyphlops telloi
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Leptotyphlopidae
Genus:	Leptotyphlops
Species:	L. telloi
Binomial name
Leptotyphlops telloi Broadley & Watson, 1976

Etymology

The specific name, telloi, is in honor of Mozambican herpetologist José Luis Pessoa Lobão Tello.^[4]

Geographic range

L. telloi is native to Mozambique and adjacent Eswatini.^[5][6]

Description

A small species, L. telloi may grow to a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) of only 16.5 cm (6.5 in). It is solid black, except for white patches on the head.^[6]

Habitat

The preferred habitat of L. telloi is thornveld.^[6]

Reproduction

L. telloi is oviparous.^[5]

References

1. Verburgt, L.; Pietersen, D.; Alexander, G.J.; Farooq, H. (2020). "Leptotyphlops telloi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T44979917A115671596. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44979917A115671596.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (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).
3. "Leptotyphlops ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
4. 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 telloi, p. 262).
5. Species Leptotyphlops telloi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
6. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Leptotyphlops telloi, p. 57).

Further reading

• Broadley DG, Watson G (1976). "A Revision of the Worm Snakes of South-eastern Africa (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae)". Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia, Series B, Natural Sciences, Bulawayo 8: 465–510. (Leptotyphlops telloi, new species, p. 500).