An updated diagnosis of the rare Amphisbaena slateri Boulenger, 1907, based on additional specimens (Squamata, Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae)

Abstract

Amphisbaena slateri is a rare species of worm lizard from Peru and Bolivia, known only from three specimens. We found two additional specimens of this taxon, housed at the herpetological collections of the Zoological Museum (Cenak), Universität Hamburg, and the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, updating its known geographic distribution and morphological variation. We also discovered an unpublished manuscript by late Carl Gans reporting the finding of the Hamburg specimen, which we reproduce here with the permission of his family. Amphisbaena slateri can be identified by a combination of characters including counts of annuli, segments, and pores, the shape of head scales and color pattern. Basic morphological data is given for all species of Amphisbaenia known for Bolivia and Peru to aid in the identification of specimens from those countries.