Letheobia Cope, 1868

Marques, Mariana P., Ceríaco, Luis M. P., Blackburn, David C. & Bauer, Aaron M., 2018, Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840 - 2017), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65, pp. 1-501 : 299

Genus Letheobia Cope, 1868

Letheobia praeocularis (Stejneger, “1893” 1894) LÉOPOLDVILLE BEAKED SNAKE

Typhlops praeocularis Stejneger “1893” 1894:709. Holotype: USNM 20799 (collector J.H. Camp). Type locality: “Leopoldville, or Stanley Pool, Congo Free State ” [= Kinshasa or Malebo Pool], Democratic Republic of Congo.

Typhlops praeocularis lundensis Laurent 1964a:90 . Holotype: MD 5929 (collector “Indigènes divers” = various native collectors). Type locality: “Dundo, Lunda,” Lunda Norte, Angola.

Rhinotyphlops praeocularis : Roux-Estève (1974a:498, 1974b:204), McDiarmid et al. (1999:83).

Letheobia praeocularis : Chirio and LeBreton (2007:328), Broadley and Wallach (2009:66), LeBreton (2010), Wallach et al. (2014:373), Hedges et al. (2014:21).

Global conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern.

Global distribution: The species is known from western and central Africa, ranging from Southern Congo to southwestern

Democractic Republic of Congo throughout northeastern Angola and probably Nigeria.

Ocurrences in Angola (Map 259): The species occurs in northeastern Angola. Lunda

Norte: “Dundo, Lunda” [-7.36667, 20.83333]

( Laurent 1964a:90; Roux-Estève 1974a:498,

1974b:204).

Taxonomic and distributional notes:

Laurent (1964a) described Typhlops praeocularis lundensis based on five specimens from

“Dundo,” Angola, later considered a synonym of the typical form ( Roux-Estève 1974a,

1974b). Broadley and Wallach (2007a) revived the genus Letheobia from the synonymy of

Rhinotyphlops Fitzinger, 1843 , but did not MAP 259. Distribution of Letheobia praeocularis in Angola.

include L. praeocularis in their study.