Identification:
This species of legless lizard is of medium size. (SVL (snout-vent length) 145 mm; TL (tail length) 108 mm). It lacks limbs and has a slightly dorsoventrally flattened body.
The head is flattened, with a broad snout extending past the eye sockets. The rostral scale is wider than it is high. The frontal scale is longer than it is wide, with two prefrontal scales touching behind the nasofrontal scale. The nasal scale is separated from the nasofrontal scale by three small scales. The mental scale is small, slightly wider than the first infralabial scale; the two postmental scales are unpaired, with the first being small, and the second large, separated from the supralabials by a row of small scales. There are 16 rows of body scales, with prominent ridges on the scales forming continuous ridges on the back and tail. Scales on the chin, throat, and belly are smooth and shiny. There are 8 rows of ventral scales and 94 rows of longitudinal ventral scales. There are 12 rows of subcaudal scales with ridges, also forming continuous ridges along the underside of the tail.
The body color is light brown, darker on the head and along the midline of the back. There are dark transverse bands on the back, more prominent in the anterior half of the body and fading posteriorly. Two dark brown stripes are present on the sides of the body. The underside is lighter in color, with two dark brown stripes on either side of the belly extending to the cloaca.
Biology, Ecology:
The species forages during the day, under leaf litter, around areas with large tree roots or large rocks in evergreen montane forests. The diet consists of larvae found in its habitat.
Distribution:
The species is endemic to Vietnam. It has been discovered in Thừa Thiên-Huế – Bạch Mã National Park, Quảng Nam, Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk, and Bidoup – Núi Bà National Park.