NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Waray Dwarf Burrowing Snake
Levitonius mirus Weinell, Paluh, Siler & Brown, 2020
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
Levitonius is a genus of cyclocorid snakes endemic to the Philippines. The only species in the genus is the Waray dwarf burrowing snake (Levitonius mirus). It is native to the Samar and Leyte islands in the Philippines, where it lives among 112 other land and snake species.
Levitonus is smaller than the other Cyclocoridae, reaching only a length of 172 millimetres (6.8 in). In addition, it has the smallest number of vertebrae of any snake, which is possibly related to its size. Its primary diet is earthworms.
Specimens of this genus had been collected in 2006 and 2007, and later again in 2014, but were misidentified. In 2018 a specimen of the genus was described as "Unnamed Leyte-Samar lineage". It is thought to be the most basal member of the family Cyclocoridae.
The genus is named after herpetologist Alan E. Leviton.
Wikipedia contributors, Levitonius; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:47:08.105733+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Levitonius mirus Weinell, Paluh, Siler & Brown, 2020
- Name authority
- Weinell, Paluh, Siler & Brown, 2020
- Common name
- Waray Dwarf Burrowing Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Cyclocoridae
- Genus
- Levitonius
- 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
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyCyclocoridae
- genusLevitonius
- speciesLevitonius mirus Weinell, Paluh, Siler & Brown, 2020
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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=Levitonius&species=mirus 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:8K9BV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.