Chironius gouveai Entiauspe-Neto et al., 2020
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publication ID |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.74.e106238 |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D576F215-864F-4961-BA1E-01824BB54B36 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/CE747B27-E26C-5F46-8366-BB62267BCCE1 |
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scientific name |
Chironius gouveai Entiauspe-Neto et al., 2020 |
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Chironius gouveai Entiauspe-Neto et al., 2020 View in CoL
Figures 6C, D View Figure 6 , 7B View Figure 7 , 8 View Figure 8
Chresonymy.
Chironius bicarinatus - Bailey (1955: 8, in part), Orejas-Miranda (1958: 1), Peters and Orejas-Miranda (1970: 59, in part), Williams and Francini (1991: 63), Cei (1993: 538), Dixon et al. (1993: 59, in part), Achaval and Olmos (1997: 68), Giraudo (2001: 42), Carreira et al. (2005: 267), Carreira and Maneyro (2013: 148), Entiauspe-Neto et al. (2020, in part)
Holotype.
Adult male, CHFURG 4394, from municipality of Tapes (30°28′46.7″S, 51°23′46.1″W; ~74 m a.s.l.), state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The holotype was not examined first-hand, but its identity has been confirmed through the information present in the original description ( Entiauspe-Neto et al. 2020).
Paratypes.
Seven specimens, all from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: Adult male, ZUFSM 2908, from the municipality of Bagé; adult male, ZFMK 103132 (formerly CHFURG 1504), from the municipality of Rio Grande; adult female, MCP 2631, at Rodeio Bonito, municipality of São Francisco de Paula; adult male and female, respectively, CHFURG 4823-24, at Ilha da Torotama, municipality of Rio Grande; adult male, MCP 8968, at Gomercinda Dornelles Fountoura School, municipality of Encruzilhada do Sul; adult male, MCP 12762, municipality of Triunfo ( Entiauspe-Neto et al. 2020). Only the specimen MCP 8968 was examined first-hand.
Diagnosis.
Chironius gouveai is distinguished from all congeners by the following unique combination of morphological characters: (i) dorsal scale rows 12/12/10; (ii) cloacal plate divided; (iii) dorsal scale rows keeled usually two; (iv) ventrals 156-174 in females, 151-167 in males; (v) subcaudals 139-146 in females, 131-152 in males; (vi) apical pits often present only on the cervical region; (vii) three supralabials contacting orbit; (viii) temporal formula usually 1+1; (ix) after preservation, uniform light brown, grayish olive or bluish dorsum with a light vertebral stripe; and dorsals and ventrals with black or brown edges; (x) after preservation, labials predominantly yellowish or whitish, except for the last two or three supralabials, which may present the same color of dorsal series or postocular stripe; gular region, first third of belly, and subcaudals (which can also be whitish) yellowish; remainder of the belly can be yellowish, olive or bluish; (xi) subcaudals with black or brown edges; outer margins with a black outline; (xii) hemipenial body generally ornamented with papillate calyces gradually replaced by smooth calyces toward the apex; (xiii) hemipenial body with each longitudinal row presenting 14-19 spines and 5-6 spines along sulcus spermaticus; (xiv) ventral surface of the septomaxilla with a conspicuous projection; (xv) anteroventral surface of prefrontal lacrimal foramen with a conspicuous projection; (xvi) maxillary teeth 27-36; (xvii) palatine teeth 16-18; (xviii) quadrate-suspensorium articulation with posterior end of supratemporals slightly laterally curved.
Comparisons.
Chironius gouveai differs from most congeners, except for C. multiventris , C. foveatus , C. septentrionalis , Chironius cf. exoletus , and C. bicarinatus , by having 12/12/10 dorsal scale rows, divided cloacal plate, two keeled dorsal scale rows, presence of apical pits, and a greenish or olive dorsal pattern. Chironius gouveai differs from C. multiventris , C. foveatus and C. septentrionalis in its number of subcaudals 131-152 [139.8-142.9; 95% confidence intervals] (vs. 156-208 in C. multiventris , 156-169 in C. foveatus and 165-181 in C. septentrionalis ) and ventrals 151-174 [160.1-161.5] (vs. 161-196 in C. multiventris , 163-174 in C. foveatus and 161-174 in C. septentrionalis ).
Chironius gouveai differs from Chironius cf. exoletus (in parentheses) in terms of number of maxillary teeth 27-36 [30.5-31.4] (vs. 23-31); outer margins of subcaudals with black pigmentation (vs. black pigmentation absent); ventral color pattern of tail usually with black or brown edges without a black zig-zag line medially (vs. a black zig-zag line medially between subcaudals); and hemipenial body elongated covered with more concentrated spines (vs. hemipenial body short with lower concentration of spines; see an illustration of the hemipenes in Klackzo et al. 2014).
Chironius gouveai differs from C. bicarinatus (in parentheses) in the number of ventrals 156-174 [162.8-164.8] in females and 151-167 [157.9-159.3] in males (vs. 147-170 [157.0-159.0] in females and 145-165 [155.1-156.6] in males); maxillary teeth 27-36 [30.5-31.4] (vs. 30-38 [33.8-34.4]); color pattern in preservative with dorsum usually uniform light brown, grayish olive or bluish, and dorsal and ventral scales with black or brown edges without a zig-zag line (vs. uniformly olive, grayish olive or bluish dorsum and a black zig-zag line medially between subcaudals, gradually fading to the tip of tail; see Entiauspe-Neto et al. 2020: fig. 3 for an illustration of this character); temporal formula usually 1+1 (vs. 1+2); ventral surface of septomaxilla with a conspicuous projection (vs. septomaxilla smooth); anteroventral surface of prefrontal lacrimal foramen with a conspicuous projection (vs. anteroventral surface of lacrimal foramen smooth); and posterior end of supratemporals slightly laterally curved (vs. straight).
Color pattern variation in preservative.
Most adult specimens have a uniform light brown, grayish olive or bluish dorsum with a light vertebral stripe, that may or may not be evident, depending on the preserved condition, sometimes with black outer margins bordering it, more visible on the anterior part of the body. It is also possible to notice the presence of a black postocular stripe in better preserved specimens. Dorsals and ventrals with black or brown edges, more visible on the posterior part of the belly. Predominantly pale yellowish or whitish labials, except for the last two or three supralabials, which may present the same dorsal or postocular stripe color. Gular region, first third of belly, and subcaudals (which can also be whitish) pale yellowish; the remainder of the belly pale yellowish, olive or bluish. The outer margins of subcaudals have a black outline, which may vary in intensity and may even be absent in some specimens, and subcaudals have black or brown edges. Some specimens have remnants of black edges on subcaudals and only medially positioned black zig-zag line between subcaudals is evident.
The populations near Serra do Mar, in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina (e.g., FML 1816, CHUFSC 244, 625, 788-90, 898, 1035, 1105, 2976-77), have a color pattern that is more similar to C. bicarinatus than those that occur in further inland locations. As with the C. bicarinatus specimens, they have a uniform olive or grayish olive dorsum; Gular region, first third of the belly, and subcaudals pale yellowish; the remainder of the belly pale yellowish or bluish; no black or brown edges on dorsals and ventrals; and the only distinguishable feature would be an evident black zig-zag line medially positioned between subcaudals with more intensity compared to C. bicarinatus , also gradually fading to the tip of the tail.
Juvenile specimens have the same color pattern variation as adults and juvenile specimens of C. bicarinatus , differing in the greater intensity of the black zig-zag line medially positioned between subcaudals or in the remnants of black or brown edges on dorsals and ventrals; neither may be evident in some preserved specimens, and it is therefore, only possible to distinguish juveniles of the related species by the combination of some meristic characters (e.g., temporal formula, number of subcaudals or maxillary teeth).
Color pattern while alive (Fig. 6C, D).
The description of color pattern while alive is based on photographs of an adult specimen (MACN 38879) collected in the province of Misiones, Argentina; a juvenile specimen (unvouchered specimen) from the municipality of Vacaria, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, as well as on photographic material of other unvouchered specimens (iNaturalist, n = 9; see Appendix 2).
Adult specimens with uniform light brown, grayish olive or olive dorsum and a light vertebral stripe, sometimes with black outer margins bordering it, more visible on the anterior part of the body. Dorsals and ventrals with black edges, more visible on the posterior part of the belly. Predominantly yellowish or whitish supralabials, except for the last two or three, which may present the same dorsal or postocular stripe color. Infralabials and gular region mostly yellowish or whitish; the first third of the belly (can also be whitish) and subcaudals yellowish or brownish yellow; the remainder of the belly whitish yellow or brownish yellow. For most specimens, the outer margins of subcaudals have a black outline and subcaudals have black edges.
Hemipenial morphology (Fig. 7B).
We analyzed the hemipenes of 19 specimens, 13 of which were extracted from the specimens and prepared, rendering a fully everted and almost or virtually maximally expanded organs. The description is based on the fully everted and maximally expanded left organs of the specimens MCP 17282, MHNCI 12369, UFMT 1600, partially expanded organ of the specimen MHNCI 1529, and non-maximally expanded organs of the specimens MHNCI 7134, ZVC 2041, ZVC 3681; and on the fully everted and maximally expanded right organ of the specimen MCP 2423, and partially expanded organs of the specimens MCN 3144, MCN 14090. Retracted organs extend to the level of the twelfth subcaudal (n = 3). Hemipenis unilobed, unicalyculate, noncapitate, subcylindrical shape, with a simple sulcus spermaticus, running centripetally from the base to the apex (MCN 3144) or slightly more than half of the hemipenis (MHNCI 12369, UFMT 1600); no nude area on the apex, ornamented with papillate calyces in the sulcate side and with spinulate calyces in the middle of the asulcate side; hemipenis eventually showing calyces with few papillae on the apex and medial region (MHNCI 12369, UFMT 1600); each longitudinal row presenting 24-27 calyces; calyces towards hemipenial body replaced by spinulate calyces; hemipenial body with approximately more than half of the total length of the organ, and is covered in spines that gradually increase in size towards the base, reaching maximum size at just over half of the hemipenial body; with each longitudinal row presenting 14-19 spines and 5-6 spines along the sulcus spermaticus; base mostly nude, ornamented by spinules at the upper portion and also laterally distributed on the proximal region of the sulcus spermaticus; a basal naked pocket present on the medial region.
Distribution (Fig. 8).
Chironius gouveai is widely distributed across inland Serra do Mar at higher altitudes in the Mixed and Semideciduous Forests, from the Paranapanema River (northernmost record in the municipality of Londrina; 23°18′34.6″S, 51°10′26.4″W) to the Uruguayan pampas (southernmost record in the province of Río Negro, M’Bopicua Port; 33°06′38.7″S, 58°11′31.6″W), with its western limit by the Paraná River (westernmost record in the province of Corrientes, Itá Ibaté, Argentina; 27°25′43.8″S, 57°20′17.0″W), between sea level to ~1030 m a.s.l..
Remarks.
The records of Chironius gouveai (ZVC 2041, 2956, 3681, 3727, MNHN 78, 1730, 1794, 5707) in the departments of Artigas, Río Negro and Salto, western Uruguay, can be explained by the attempt of specimens to cross the Uruguay River and their transportation by vegetation rafts along the river bed to the La Plata River (see Achaval et al. 1979). The record of C. gouveai (MHNCI 6028) from Montevideo needs to be clarified to confirm the occurrence of the species in southern Uruguay.
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