Scriptosaura, Rodrigues, Miguel Trefaut & Santos, Ednilza Maranhão Dos, 2008

Rodrigues, Miguel Trefaut & Santos, Ednilza Maranhão Dos, 2008, A new genus and species of eyelid-less and limb reduced gymnophthalmid lizard from northeastern Brazil (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae), Zootaxa 1873, pp. 50-60 : 51-52

Scriptosaura , gen. nov.

Definition: An elongate and short tailed gymnophthalmid lacking an ear opening and eyelid. Forelimbs absent, hindlimbs rudimentary, styliform, ending in a short apical scale; nail absent. Frontonasal single; prefrontals, frontal, frontoparietals, supraoculars, and loreal absent. Parietals longer than wide, contacting frontal. Nostril in the center of nasal. Collar fold absent. One pair of chin shields. Dorsal scales cycloid anteriorly, posteriorly smooth, hexagonal, keeled and slightly mucronate, in regular transverse series; lateral scales enlarged, smooth. Ventral scales smooth, in four regular transverse series, the external ones wider. Males with four preanal pores, absent in females.

Etymology: From the Latin “scriptor” = writer, and “saura” = lizard in reference to the sand tracks left by this sand swimming species. The tracks are in the origin of its popular name (escrivão = public writer) which is also attributed to other similar sand swimming lizards like those of the related genera Calyptommatus and Nothobachia .

Content: Scriptosaura catimbau , new species, monotypic.

Comparisons: Externally, the absence of eyelids immediately leads us to associate the new genus with the Gymnophthalmini radiation of Gymnophthalmidae . Within the tribe the most similar genera are Nothobachia and Calyptommatus . Like Scriptosaura both are elongate, fossorial lizards lacking eyelids and an external ear opening. In external attributes Scriptosaura differs from Nothobachia by the absence of frontal and supraocular scales, by the fusion between first supraciliary and loreal (both scales distinct in Nothobachia ), by having one pair of chin shields (two in Nothobachia ), by the absence of forelimb (present in Nothobachia as a distinctive styliform appendage), by the presence of a rudimentary styliform appendage in the hind limb (leg distinctive with two clawed toes in Nothobachia ) and a tail shorter than body (longer than body in Nothobachia ).

Scriptosaura shares with Calyptommatus the absence of frontal and supraocular scales, the fused condition of first supraciliary and loreal, the absence of forelimbs, the rudimentary condition of hindlimb, and the short tail, although in Scriptosaura the tail is longer than in Calyptommatus . Nevertheless, externally Scriptosaura lacks two of the most characteristic synapomorphies of Calyptommatus : the ocular scale and the presence of an enlarged temporal on the lateral face of head. The eye in Scriptosaura is much larger than in Calyptommatus and is never covered by an ocular scale. Likewise the extremely enlarged temporal scale present in all species of Calyptommatus is absent in Scriptosaura whose narrow temporal scale resembles much more the condition observed in Nothobachia . Considering the other Gymnophthalmini, Scriptosaura differs from Tretioscincus by the absence of eyelid (present in the latter) and from Tretioscincus , Micrablepharus , Gymnophthalmus , Procellosaurinus , Vanzosaura and Psilophthalmus by its elongate body and limb reduced and short tail conditions (lizard-like body form with tail longer than body in the other genera), absence of an external ear opening, absence of frontal, supraocular and loreal scales and the presence of one pair of chin shields (two or three). From Tretioscincus , Gymnophthalmus , Procellosaurinus , Vanzosaura and Psilophthalmus it further differs by the absence of prefrontal scales, as well as from Tretioscincus , Micrablepharus and Procellosaurinus by the presence in these genera of frontoparietal scales, absent in Scriptosaura . Among the Gymnophthalmini, Scriptosaura is unique in having one pair of chin shields.

Scriptosaura differs from all other genera included in the Gymnophthalminae ( Heterodactylus , Colobodactylus , Alexandresaurus , Iphisa , Colobosaura , Acratosaura and Stenolepis —tribe Heterodactylini, according to Pellegrino et al., 2001) among other characters by the absence of eyelid, absence of frontal, supraocular, and loreal scales, and, except for Heterodactylus , by the absence of external ear opening.