A NEW SPECIES OF BLIND SNAKE, TYPHLOPS MARXI, FROM THE PHILIPPINES (SERPENTES, TYPHLOPIDAE)

A new species, Typhlops marxi, is described from northwestern Samar Is land in the Philippines. It is placed in a species group of its own du e to its unusual combination of features that do not indicate affinity with any known group: 30 midbody scale rows, a laterally pointed snou t with horizontal cutting edge, a supralabial imbrication pattern type of T-0, and type B foramina in a multicameral tracheal lung. Three ne w systematic characters are introduced from the ophidian respiratory s ystem: the cardiac lung, morphological lung types (unicameral, paucica meral and multicameral), and lung foramina types (A-G).