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| Indotyphlops laca O'Shea, Wallach, Hsiao & Kaiser, 2023 |
Abstract
We describe a slender immature female blindsnake from the main airport in Dili, Timor-Leste, as a new species of Indotyphlops, adding a third species to the country's known blindsnake fauna of Sundatyphlops polygrammicus (Schlegel, 1839) and Virgotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803). The new species has the following combination of characteristics: small size (snout–vent length = 119 mm), slender body (relative body thickness 71), T-V supralabial imbrication pattern, relative rostral width 0.36, 434 middorsal scales, relative tail length 1.7%, absence of enlarged occipital scales, and apical spine absent. The snake was found in an ant nest under several flat rocks near the fuel depot of Nicolau Lobato International Airport, and this habitat and the discovery in a busy location with heavy human impacts indicate that the species is likely a primarily subterranean myrmeco- or termitophage.
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| Holotype of Indotyphlops laca sp. nov. in life, demonstrating its slender body compared with its length. The head of the snake is the lighter coloured region at left. |
Indotyphlops laca sp. nov.
Laca's Wormsnake (ENG),
Ular Kawat Laca (IND), Samea Matan Delek Laca (TET).
diagnosis: Indotyphlops laca (Figs. 3–5) is a small (SVL = 119 mm), slender (relative body thickness 71 or 1.4% of TTL) member of the genus with a T-V SIP, 18 scale rows along the body lacking posterior reduction, 434 middorsal scales, rostral oval with relative rostral width 0.36, semidivided nasal shield, inferior nasal suture contacting second supralabial, eyespot lacking pupil or iris, relative tail length 1.6%, occipital scales not enlarged, and lacking apical spine.
etymology: This species epithet is a patronym, using the name as a noun in apposition. We dedicate this species to Agivedo “Laca” Varela Ribeiro (Fig. 6A), a citizen of Timor-Leste and a native of Raça in Lautém, the country's easternmost municipality. When we floated the idea of naming the species collectively for the Timorese members of our research team, they requested that we honour Laca instead.
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| An illustration of the ease with which the holotype of Indotyphlops laca sp. nov. moves through coconut palm bark. This was discovered while trying to set up the specimen for photography in a hotel room, where a brief turn to get the camera allowed the snake to disappear completely! (A) The entire snake was rarely visible during the photoshoot as it took any opportunity to venture into the pores and tunnels of the bark. (B) The blindsnake is visible at four points (white arrows) as it moves through the inner fibrous bark from left to right. (C) The head and anterior body emerge from the outer layer of bark, but a glimpse of its body (white arrow) is visible in the layer below. (D) The blindsnake is seen taking advantage of one of the slightly larger pores in the bark. (E) The blindsnake emerged, turned around at the sight of a perceived threat, and retreated back into the bark at the same point. (F) Occasionally, only the head would appear in a gap, then it would withdraw, to appear in an entirely different area of the bark seconds later. Unfortunately, we did not measure the diameter of the pores, but from the ease with which this slender snake moved through the coconut palm bark, it is evident that it would be perfectly at home in the galleries and chambers of termite mounds or ant nests. |
Mark O'Shea, Van Wallach, Emma Hsiao and Hinrich Kaiser. 2023. “Anteaters” under the Airport: A Slender New Species of Blindsnake, Genus Indotyphlops, from Timor-Leste (Scolecophidia: Typhlopidae: Asiatyphlopinae). Canadian Journal of Zoology. DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2022-0097
