Range: northwestern coastal Nicaragua

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Relatively recently described and only known from a handful of century-old museum specimens, this Central American blindsnake species is named for the Brazilian museum the specimens were housed at and their escape from a fire that occurred there. It is a relatively large species in its genus exceeding 21 cm in length, more thickly built than many of its relatives but still slender and cylindric with a rounded, slightly flattened head just barely broader than the neck and sporting moderately well-developed eyes. The tail is short and blunt, with barely any taper at the tip down to the fairly stout conical spur, and frequently sports occurrence of fused caudal scales. Dorsal scale count is 250-267, scale row count 14 reduced to 10 caudally. Coloration of live animals is unknown, though likely composed of dark brown semi-triangular spots on each scale forming dark stripes down the dorsal surface between narrower pale brown or cream stripes. The ventral surface is lighter with pale-edged scales, and a lighter cream or yellow spot is present on the lower rostral scale as well as a similar blotch covering just the very tip of the tail. Unfused frontal/rostral scales distinguish this species from its only known overlapping relative E. ater, as well as the very small caudal blotch, widely adjoining supralabial and supraocular scales, and the small blotch completely restricted to the rostral scale.

 

Habitat: due to the species description not being based on wild observations, habitat of this species is completely unknown.

 

Prey: likely small soft-bodied invertebrates such as ant and termite larvae.

 

Lifespan and reproduction: lifespan unknown, likely under 10 years. Oviparous.

 

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1031616-Epictia-rioignis

Koch et al. (2019). A century of waiting: description of a new Epictia Gray, 1845 (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) based on specimens housed for more than 100 years in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NMW). PeerJ 7.