NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Peter's Thread Snake
Leptotyphlops scutifrons (Peters, 1854)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Peters's threadsnake (Leptotyphlops scutifrons) is a species of snake in the family Leptotyphlopidae. It is widely distributed in Southern Africa. Following the recognition of its former subspecies, Leptotyphlops pitmani and Leptotyphlops merkeri, as full species, L. scutifrons is no longer thought to occur in East Africa. The limits of its range are still unclear, but it is thought to be present in Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini, and western Lesotho.
Wikipedia contributors, Peters's threadsnake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:57:18.968062+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Leptotyphlops scutifrons (Peters, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1854)
- Common name
- Peter's Thread Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Leptotyphlopidae
- Genus
- Leptotyphlops
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderScolecophidia Cope, 1864
- familyLeptotyphlopidae
- subfamilyLeptotyphlopinae
- genusLeptotyphlops
- speciesLeptotyphlops scutifrons (Peters, 1854)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Leptotyphlops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Distant's Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops distanti (Boulenger, 1892) | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Emin Pasha’s worm snakeLeptotyphlops emini (Boulenger, 1890) | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Jacobsen’s Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops jacobseni Broadley & Broadley, 1999 | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mount Kenya worm snakeLeptotyphlops keniensis Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops nigricans (Schlegel, 1839) | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-tip worm snakeLeptotyphlops nigroterminus Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pitman’s Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops pitmani Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Leptotyphlops pungwensis Broadley & Wallach, 1997 | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Merker’s Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops merkeri (Werner, 1909) | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cape Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops lepezi (Boulenger, 1901) | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ethiopian worm snakeLeptotyphlops aethiopicus Broadley & Wallach, 2007 | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cape Thread SnakeLeptotyphlops conjunctus (Jan, 1861) | LeptotyphlopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Glauconia okahandjana Ahl, 1924 Ahl, 1924 | synonym |
| Stenostoma scutifrons Peters, 1854 Peters, 1854 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Leptotyphlops&species=scutifrons Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3TYVZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.