Anolis rubribarbaris

Townsend, Josiah H., Wilson, Larry David, Luque-Montes, Ileana R. & Ketzler, Lorraine P., 2008, Redescription of Anolis rubribarbaris (Köhler, McCranie, & Wilson 1999), a poorly-known Mesoamerican cloud forest anole (Squamata: Polychrotidae), Zootaxa 1918, pp. 39-44 : 40-43

Anolis rubribarbaris ( Köhler, McCranie, & Wilson 1999)

Figs. 2–3

Norops rubribarbaris Köhler et al. 1999: 280 .

Holotype. UF 90206, an adult male from 4 km S of San Luís de los Planes, 1700 m elevation, northern slope of Montaña de Santa Bárbara, Parque Nacional Montaña de Santa Bárbara, Depto. Santa Bárbara, Honduras, collected 3 March 1994 by Fred G. Thompson, original field number FGT 5659.

Referred specimens. UF 152660 (Figs. 2a, 2b), a small adult male, and UF 152661–62 (Fig. 3), adult females, all from disturbed cloud forest ca. 1–2 km W of El Cedral (14°54.49’N, 88°05.38’W), 1720–1740 m, E slope of Montaña de Santa Bárbara, Parque Nacional Montaña de Santa Bárbara, Depto. Santa Bárbara, Honduras, collected 28 January 2008 by Leonel Erazo Chávez, Ileana R. Luque-Montes, Josiah H. Townsend, and Larry David Wilson.

Diagnosis. Anolis rubribarbaris differs from all other Mesoamerican anoles, except those in the crassulus group, by having the following combination of characteristics: red dewlap, moderately to strongly enlarged medial dorsal scales, strongly keeled ventral scales, no more than one scale separating the supraorbital semicircles, four to five rows of loreals, suboculars and supralabials in contact, no axillary pocket, and heterogeneous flank squamation. Of the members of the crassulus group, A. rubribarbaris differs from A. amplisquamosus in having a red dewlap and enlarged middorsal scales grading into the dorsolateral scales (dewlap bright orange and middorsal scales abruptly larger than adjacent dorsolateral scales in A. amplisquamosus ), from A. heteropholidotus , A. muralla , A. sminthus , and A. wermuthi in having strongly keeled ventral scales (ventral scales smooth or weakly keeled in A. heteropholidotus , A. sminthus , and A. wermuthi and smooth in A. muralla ), and from A. anisolepis , A. crassulus , and A. haguei by having 8–11 rows of enlarged dorsal scales (usually 12–15 and as high as 23 in A. anisolepis , A. crassulus and A. haguei ). This species can be distinguished from A. sp. (Townsend and Wilson, In press), and further differentiated from A. wermuthi , by having a hemipenis with an undivided asulcate processus (asulcate processus divided in A. sp. and A. wermuthi ).

Definition. A medium sized (snout-vent length [SVL] 38.1–47.5 mm in two males, 40.2–51.6 mm in two females; tail length [TL] 84–120.5 mm in two males, 87–113 mm in two females; SVL/TL 2.16–2.54 in two males, 2.19–2.21 in two females) member of the Anolis crassulus species group with a laterally compressed tail (1.11–1.56 times as high as wide), head length/head width 1.36–1.66, head length/SVL 0.28–0.29, relative leg length 3–5, tibia length/SVL 0.23–0.26. Scales on snout keeled; 4–7 scales between internasals; canthal ridges well-defined, composed of 3–4 canthal scales, with 4–6 scales between second canthals; 20–25 weakly keeled to keeled loreal scales present in a maximum of 4–5 oblique rows; 6–6 supralabials to below center of eye; suboculars contacting supralabials; supraorbital semicircles well-developed, with 0–1 scales separating supraorbital semicircles at narrowest point; interparietal scale well-developed, larger than surrounding scales, separated from supraorbital semicircles by 2–3 scales at the most proximate point; mental wider than long, partially divided by a medial suture; 4–6 postmentals, outermost pair the largest; 6–6/7 infralabials to below center of eye; keeled granular scales on chin and throat; males have a medium to large dewlap, and females have a small dewlap similarly colored to that of the male; greatest depth of extended male dewlap 5.5–7.9 mm; male dewlap length/SVL 0.358–0.36, female dewlap length/SVL 0.103–0.114; male dewlap extending 5.78–8.42% of SVL beyond level of axilla, bearing 30–50 large gorgetal scales in 5–10 oblique rows; skin between gorgetals lacking scales; female dewlap does not extend beyond level of axilla, bearing 30–50 large gorgetal scales in 5–10 oblique rows; skin between gorgetals lacking scales; dorsal scales keeled, with 8–11 middorsal rows irregularly enlarged; 25–30 dorsal scales in one head length; lateral scales heterogeneous, with slightly enlarged keeled scales scattered among smaller granular scales; ventral scales keeled, imbricate, largest at midbody; 25–29 ventral scales in one head length; caudal scales strongly keeled; enlarged postanal scales present; axillary pocket absent; limb scales keeled, imbricate, largest on anterior surface of upper limbs; 24–27 lamellae under phalanges II to IV of fourth toe; 8–9 lamellae under distal phalanx of fourth toe.

Hemipenis. The everted hemipenis of UF 152660, a subadult male, is a somewhat stout organ; asulcus processus undivided; sulcus spermaticus bounded by moderately well-developed sulcal lips, terminates at the base of the apex; truncus bearing some shallows folds, otherwise lacking surface structures; apical region appearing relatively smooth, slightly calyculate.

Color in life. Coloration in life of UF 152660 (Fig. 2a) was recorded as follows: dorsum rust brown on enlarged middorsal scale rows, smudged middorsally with dark gray; lateral region of body yellow-brown; anterior limbs yellow-brown; posterior limbs yellow-brown with narrow brown crossbars on lower limb; dorsum of head rust brown mottled with dark gray; tail yellow-brown with dark gray crossbars; venter peachcream; dewlap red with slight orange tinge (Fig. 2b); iris rust brown. Coloration in life of UF 152661 was recorded as follows: dorsum uniform rust brown, lateral regions same; anterior limbs yellow-tan; posterior limbs rust brown; dorsum of head rust brown with dark gray smudging; tail rust brown; x-shaped dark brown mark at base of tail; venter pale peach with scattered black punctuations; small dewlap orangish red; iris rust brown. Coloration in life of UF 152662 (Fig. 3) was recorded as follows: enlarged middorsal scale rows gray brown with four dark brown chevrons; lateral regions yellow-gray with scattered black punctuations; anterior limbs yellow-tan; posterior limbs yellow-tan with brown crossbands on lower limb; dorsum of head graybrown; tail brown with slightly dark crossbands; venter yellowish cream; small dewlap orangish red; iris rust brown.

Distribution and natural history. All known localities for Anolis rubribarbaris are in the Lower Montane Wet Forest formation, as defined by Holdridge (1967), in a relatively narrow elevational band between 1700 and 1740 m on the northern and eastern slopes of Montaña de Santa Bárbara. According to the original field notes, the holotype (UF 90206) was collected on limestone boulders along a dry stream bed at 1700 m elevation, presumably during the daytime. UF 152660, a male, was collected at 2015 h while it slept on an orchid leaf growing approximately 3 m high on the trunk of a large tree at 1720 m elevation along a trail through disturbed cloud forest. UF 152661, a female, was asleep on an adjacent leaf of the same orchid directly under UF 152660. The large female, UF 152662, was collected further along the same trail in a patch of lightly disturbed cloud forest at 1740 m elevation, while asleep on a bracken fern ( Pteridium sp.) approximately 1 m above the ground at 2045 h. Undisturbed cloud forest occurs at all points above these collection localities on Montaña de Santa Bárbara, reaching a maximum elevation of 2744 m; however, herpetological survey work in the forests above 2000 m has not produced any additional material of A. rubribarbaris .

Conservation status. Based on the extent of the remaining forest in Parque Nacional Montaña de Santa Bárbara and the known distribution of Anolis rubribarbaris , this species would qualify as Endangered (EN B2ab[iii]) based on IUCN Red List Criteria ( IUCN, 2001). This ranking assumes the distribution of A. rubribarbaris is not in fact limited to the 1700–1740 m elevational band described above and extends into the intact forest above this elevation. This species was consider to have a high degree of vulnerability to environmental degradation (EVS=16) by Wilson and McCranie (2004), due to its occurrence in only a single forest formation, its status as a Honduran endemic, and low level of threat due to human persecution.

FIGURE: 2a) Subadult male Anolis rubribarbaris from above El Cedral, 1720 m elevation, Parque Nacional Santa Bárbara, Honduras; 2b) dewlap of subadult male A. rubribarbaris shown in Fig. 2a (UF 152660); 3) adult female Anolis rubribarbaris from above El Cedral, 1740 m elevation, Parque Nacional Santa Bárbara, Honduras (UF 152662).