A review of East and Central African species of Letheobia Cope, revived from the synonymy of Rhinotyphlops Fitzinger, with descriptions of five new species (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) Author Wallach, Van text Zootaxa 2007 1515 31 68 journal article 10.5281/zenodo.177278 44e92dc8-7d91-43bd-900b-36f28549b744 1175-5326 177278 Letheobia ataeniata (Boulenger) ( Fig 8 B) Somali blind-snake Typhlops unitaeniatus var. ataeniatus Boulenger 1912 , Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, 5: 331. Type locality: Dolo, la frontiera Italo-Etiopica [= Somalia ] ( 04°11’N , 42°05’E , elevation 200 m ), collected by Captain C. Citerni, syntypes BMNH 1946.1.10.78 (ex-BMNH 1912.6.6.12) & MSNG ( 2 specimens ); Boulenger 1915b : 616; Werner 1921 : 331; Calabresi 1923 : 160, 1927: 31 & 51; Scortecci 1930 : 15. Typhlops somalicus , – (not Boulenger) Calabresi 1918 : 123 . Typhlops unitaeniatus ataeniatus – Scortecci 1939 : 264 ; Parker 1949: 22; Battersby 1954 : 246 ; Largen 1978 : 59 . Typhlops ataeniatus – Gans & Laurent 1965 : 59 ; Gans & Taub 1965 : 107 . Rhinotyphlops unitaeniatus – (not Peters) Roux-Estève 1974 : 241 , 1975: 445 (part); Hahn 1980 : 36 (part); Lanza 1983 : 219 , 1990: 430 (part); Lambert 1985 : 66 (part); Largen & Rasmussen 1993 : 322 . Rhinotyphlops unitaeniatus ataeniatus – Largen 1978 : 59 . Rhinotyphlops ataeniatus – Wallach 1994 : 219 ; McDiarmid et al. 1999: 78; Spawls et al. 2006 : 92 . Description. Head shape and shield pattern similar to L. unitaeniata . Scale rows usually 26-24-24; MD 443– 531 (mean 487.83). L/D ratio 34–72. Uniform yellow-brown to black, top of head with a short median orange or yellow stripe. Size. Largest specimen (MZUF 27171 – Mareri, Somalia ) 455 mm in total length. This species seems to average a little larger than Letheobia unitaeniata ( Fig. 1 ). Habitat. Somali Acacia-Commiphora bushland and thicket. Sympatric with L. unitaeniata on the sandy levees on the west bank of the Juba River ( Hoevers & Johnson, 1982 ). Distribution. Somalia , eastern Ethiopia (Ogaden) and just entering northeastern Kenya , 25–1000 m ( Fig. 12 ). Localities. ETHIOPIA . Callafo AAU/H863-64. SOMALIA . Afgoi ( Scortecci 1930 ) MZUF 1080-81 ; MZUT 1765 (2); Beidos MZUF 2467; Chisimaio MZUF 6920; Dolo BMNH 1946.1.10.78 ( holotype ); Gelib to Margherita MZUF 976; Haud BMNH 1949.2.1.1 ( 08°26'N , 46°00’E ), 1949.1.1.2 ( 08°26'N , 45°43'E ), 1949.1.1.3 ( 08°29'N , 45°34'E ), 1949.1.1.4 ( 08°10'N , 46°30'E ); Lower Shebeli NHCL 1534; Mareri (Juba Sugar Project: Hoevers & Johnson 1982 ) CAS 151200 , 225266-70; MZUF 27171-78; 33660; Totungas to Obbia MZUF 1123; Zona basso Uebi ( Calabresi 1923 ). KENYA . Malka Murri (Daua River: Battersby 1954 ) BMNH 1952.1.8.88. Remarks. The holotype was collected near the Ethiopia-Somalia border at Dolo. Largen & Rasmussen (1993) list the coordinates for Dolo as 04°11’N , 42°05’E , placing it in Somalia . The Operational Navigation Charts ONC L-5 and L-6 show Dolo at 04°11’N , 42°03’E , placing it in Ethiopia , noting however that the “administration boundary is in dispute.”