Range: northwestern Peru, near Limon

 

Described only in 2015 and known only from the single holotype specimen, this rare species has yet to be relocated. The holotype was just over 18 cm in length, with a relatively slim cylindrical build though notably thicker in the posterior third or so. The head is small and rounded, no thicker than the neck, and slightly dorsally flattened. The tail is short, blunt, and slightly tapered to the prominent spine at the tip. Dorsal scale count is 25, scale row count 14 reduced to 10 caudally. Coloration is a black head and pale snout, with the black splitting into seven roughly equal stripes down the back and sides. Lateral as well as anterior and caudal background is yellow, but fades to rusty red along the middorsal region. The belly is unmarked cream though with a ghost of striped pattern, and the tail spine is black. The color arrangement of this species is unique among its relatives, combination of black tail tip and tricolor striping.

 

Habitat: found under a rock in a recently tilled field, likely lives similarly within undisturbed habitats in the surrounding dry intermontane forest.

 

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

 

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

 

Sources: Koch et al. (2015). Three new endemic species of Epictia Gray, 1845 (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) from the dry forest of northwestern Peru. Zootaxa 3964(2): 228-244.