Liwale round-snouted worm lizard

{{speciesbox

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Msuya, C.A. |author-link=species:Charles Andekia Msuya |author2=Ngalason, W. |author2-link=species:Wilirk Ngalason |author3=Howell, K. |author3-link=species:Kim Monroe Howell |author4=Spawls, S. |author4-link=species:Stephen Spawls |author5=Menegon, M. |author5-link=species:Michele Menegon |date=2014 |title=Loveridgea ionidesii |volume=2014 |page=e.T176242A44845761 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T176242A44845761.en |access-date=18 November 2021}}

| genus = Loveridgea

| species = ionidesii

| authority = (Battersby, 1950)

| subdivision =

| range_map = Loveridgea ionidesii distribution.png

| synonyms = *Amphisbaena ionidesii
{{small|Battersby, 1950}}

Loveridgea ionedesii
{{small|— Broadley & Howell, 1991}}

| synonyms_ref =

}}

The Liwale round-snouted worm lizard (Loveridgea ionidesii) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to Tanzania.{{NRDB species |genus=Loveridgea |species=ionidesii|accessdate=24 February 2019}}

Etymology

The specific name, ionidesii, is in honor of British game warden Constantine John Philip Ionides (1901–1968), who was known as the "Snake Man of British East Africa".Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (Loveridgea ionidesii, p. 130).

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of L. ionidesii is savanna, at altitudes from sea level to {{cvt|1,200|m|ft}}.

Description

Medium-sized for an amphisbaenian, L. ionidesii is {{cvt|8|–|18|cm|in}} in snout-to-vent length (SVL).

Behavior

L. ionidesii is diurnal, terrestrial, and fossorial.

Reproduction

L. ionidesii gives birth to live young, and its mode of reproduction has been called viviparous or ovoviviparous. Litter size is two.