A New Species of Amphisbaena from Northeastern Brazil (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

We describe a new species of Amphisbaena from the Caatinga in the northern region of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. The new taxon is identified mainly by having two precloacal pores, 158-165 body annuli, 12-14 caudal annuli with autotomy on the third and fourth annuli, 14-16 dorsal and 15-16 ventral segments on a midbody annulus, four supralabials, three infralabials, and a postmalar row. Its description increases to 23 the number of species of Amphisbaenia for the Caatinga. Knowledge of worm lizard richness has largely increased in Brazil since the 1990s, especially in the Caatinga and the Cerrado, due mainly to collections in previously unsurveyed areas for environmental impact assessments.