Amphisbaena talisiae Vanzolini, 1995

Costa, Henrique C., Graboski, Roberta & Zaher, Hussam, 2019, Amphisbaena mensae Catro-Mello, 2000 is a synonym of Amphisbaena talisiae Vanzolini, 1995 (Squamata: Amphisbaenia: Amphisbaenidae), Zootaxa 4559 (1), pp. 166-174 : 167-169

Amphisbaena talisiae Vanzolini, 1995

Amphisbaena talisiae Vanzolini, 1995: 217 . Holotype: MZUSP 78808 . Type Locality: “ Brasil: Mato Grosso: Serra da Pitomba , 15°49′ S, 52°10′ W ”.

Amphisbaena mensae Castro-Mello, 2000: 244 . Holotype: MZUSP 83231 . Type Locality: “ Brasil: Goiás: Serra da Mesa, Setor 2 (14°02′ S, 48°19′ W)”.

Definition. A species of Amphisbaena with: (1) a round head in dorsal and lateral view, not depressed or compressed; (2) suture lengths: prefrontal> frontal> nasal (rarely frontal> prefrontal> nasal); (3) precloacal pores four, without median hiatus; (4) body annuli 205–234; (5) lateral annuli 2–4; (6) caudal annuli 17–29; (7) autotomy on 6 th to 8 th caudal annulus; (8) tail round in cross-section, throughout its length; (9) tail tip round or slightly laterally compressed; (10) dorsal segments 10–14 and ventral segments 14–18 in a midbody annulus (24–32 total segments); (11) supralabials three; (12) infralabials three; (13) parietals one pair, pentagonal; (14) postocular one; (15) temporal one; (16) postgenials one row, usually with two scales; (17) postmalar row absent; (18) lateral sulcus present, dorsal and ventral sulci absent; (19) SVL <150 mm; (20) color (in preservative) brown with cream segment sutures at dorsum, becoming paler toward venter, usually immaculate cream on the two midventral segments; tail brown dorsally and ventrally.

Diagnosis. Among South American amphisbaenids, the round head readily distinguishes Amphisbaena talisiae from A. anomala and Leposternon spp. (shovel-shaped), from A. acrobeles , A. bilabialata , A. kingii , and Mesobaena spp. (keel-shaped). Those taxa will not be included in comparisons below. The presence of four precloacal pores without a median hiatus, dorsal segment counts between 10 and 14, and ventral segment counts between 14 and 18 is shared with 28 species ( A. albocingulata , A. arenaria , A. bahiana , A. borelli , A. carvalhoi , A. cuiabana , A. cunhai , A. darwinii , A. frontalis , A. gracilis , A. heathi , A. heterozonata , A. hogei , A. ibijara , A. lumbricalis , A. medemi , A. munoai , A. nigricauda , A. pericensis , A. prunicolor , A. sanctaeritae , A. slateri , A. steindachneri , A. supernumeraria , A. trachura , A. tragorrhectes , A. uroxena , and A. vanzolinii ). Of those species (characters in parentheses), Amphisbaena talisiae can be distinguished from A. arenaria , A. cuiabana , A. frontalis , sanctaeritae , A. steindachneri , and A. supernumeraria by possessing 205–234 body annuli (more than 250). The absence of a postmalar row in A. talisiae distinguishes it from A. bahiana , A. cunhai , A. darwinii , A. heathi , A. heterozonata , A. hogei , A. munoai , A. prunicolor , A. sanctaeritae , A. trachura , A. tragorrhectes , and A. uroxena . Amphisbaena talisiae is distinguished from A. albocingulata by the presence of a brown dorsum and cream venter, and 205–234 body annuli (a uniform light brown coloration and 183–204 body annuli); from A. borelli by having 205–234 body annuli, naso-rostral suture always present, one postgenial row, enlarged parietals, and a rounded or slightly compressed tail tip (239–261 body annuli, naso-rostral suture partially lost, two postgenial rows, no enlarged parietals, and caudal tip modified into a keel); from A. carvalhoi , A. lumbricalis , and A. pericensis by the presence of one row of postgenials and most commonly 12 dorsal and 14 or 16 ventral segments (two rows of postgenials [one or two in A. carvalhoi ] and generally 14 dorsal and 18 ventral segments); from A. gracilis by the absence of a dorsal sulcus, one row of postgenials, and a tail with uniform diameter along its length (presence of a dorsal sulcus, two rows of postgenials, and the tail diameter decreasing towards the tip); from A. ibijara by having 205–234 body annuli, temporal not fused with postsupralabial, relatively short frontals, enlarged parietals, and one row of postgenials (239–250 body annuli, temporal and postsupralabial fused, long frontals, no enlarged parietals, and two rows of postgenials); from A. medemi by the nasals in contact, one row of postgenials, and a rounded or slightly compressed caudal tip (nasals usually separated by the posterior tip of rostral, two postgenial rows, and caudal tip modified into a blunt keel); from A. nigricauda by the presence of a rounded, slightly prognathous snout and the tail with a uniform brown color similar to dorsal body (obtuse, strongly prognathous snout and distal segments of the tail dark colored, contrasting with the light pigmented body); from A. slateri by a brown dorsal coloration that fades to cream toward the venter, and a postmental slightly longer than wide (body uniform dark brown and postmental distinctly longer than wide); from A. vanzolinii by the presence of three supra- and three infralabials (two supra- and two infralabials).

Geographic distribution and habitat. Amphisbaena talisiae is known from central Brazil, between southeastern Mato Grosso, eastern Minas Gerais and central Tocantins states ( Fig. 2 ; Table 2). It has been recorded mostly from the Cerrado ecoregion within two vegetation types: open savanna (“campo cerrado”) and arboreal savanna (“cerrado sensu stricto ”) ( Colli et al. 2011; Nogueira 2001). The new specimens from UHE-LEM are in an apparent ecotone between the Cerrado and the Mato Grosso Tropical Dry Forests ecoregions. Within its geographic range, the climate is described as tropical savanna (‘Aw’ in Köppen’s climate classification map), with annual mean temperatures ±18°C, rainy summers and dry winters ( Alvares et al. 2013). Regarding soil type, most known records (including the type locality) are in areas dominated by ferralsols, a deeply weathered soil typical of tropical climates ( IUSS Working Group WRB 2015). The species is also recorded in areas where the main soil type is acrisol, cambisol, lixisol, or plinthosol ( Fig. 2 ).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Geographic distribution maps of known records of Amphisbaena talisiae (including specimens of A. mensae), showing ecoregions (Dinerstein et al. 2017) and soil type (Gardi et al. 2014; IUSS Working Group WRB 2015).