Ninia guytudori, Arteaga & Harris, 2023
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publication ID |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.7.112476 |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2D3CA9C5-24E2-4EF4-84BF-174362F70EBC |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6A72861B-F4CF-465E-B73C-E11790A65DE8 |
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taxon LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:act:6A72861B-F4CF-465E-B73C-E11790A65DE8 |
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treatment provided by |
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scientific name |
Ninia guytudori |
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sp. nov. |
Ninia guytudori sp. nov.
Figs 3 View Figure 3 , 4a View Figure 4 , 5a-d View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6 , 7b View Figure 7
Holotype.
JMG 1327 (Figs 3 View Figure 3 , 4a View Figure 4 , 5a-b View Figure 5 ), adult female collected by Alejandro Arteaga on July 27, 2017 at road to Mindo, Pichincha province, Ecuador (-0.02825, -78.76189; 1676 m).
Paratopotype.
SC 005 (Fig. 5c, d View Figure 5 ), juvenile male with the same data as the holotype.
Proposed standard English name.
Tudors’s Coffee-Snake.
Proposed standard Spanish name.
Culebra cafetera de Tudor.
Diagnosis.
Ninia guytudori sp. nov. is placed in the genus Ninia , as diagnosed by Dunn (1935), based on phylogenetic evidence (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ). The species is diagnosed based on the following combination of characters: (1) 19/19/19 keeled dorsals; (2) two postoculars or none in SC 005; (3) loreal 1.6-1.7 × longer than high; (4) temporals 1+2; (5) seven or eight supralabials, usually fourth and fifth contacting orbit; (6) seven or eight infralabials, first four or five contacting chin shields; (7) two rows of chin shields; (8) two or three preventrals; (9) 130-138 ventrals in males, 144 in the single female; (10) 48-51 subcaudals in males, 44 in the single female; (11) dorsal ground color uniformly black with a white nuchal collar that connects to a white lip band forming a bridle (Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ); (12) ventral surfaces uniformly immaculate white (Fig. 3b View Figure 3 ); (13) 181-243 mm SVL in males, 183 mm in the single female; (14) 30-58 mm CL in males, 35 in the single female.
Comparisons.
Ninia guytudori sp. nov. is compared to other species of the genus previously subsumed under N. atrata sensu lato (differences summarized in Table 1 View Table 1 ). The new species differs from all of them by having a white nuchal collar merged with the white lip coloration (Fig. 4a View Figure 4 ), immaculate throat and chin shields (Fig. 5b, d View Figure 5 ), and ventral surface of body immaculate white (Fig. 3b View Figure 3 ). In N. schmidti comb. nov., the throat and chin shields are obscured by dark brown pigment (Fig. 5f, h View Figure 5 ), the supralabials are partly or entirely black or dark gray (Fig. 4b View Figure 4 ), nuchal collar absent in adults (Fig. 5e, g View Figure 5 ), and ventral surfaces usually heavily obscured by dark pigment. Ninia guytudori sp. nov. further differs from N. teresitae by having a lower number of ventrals in males (130-138 vs 143-156), presence of a "white bridle," and belly not irregularly spotted, speckled, or heavily obscured by dark pigment. The cis-Andean N. hudsoni has black lips and dorsal scales arranged in 21 or 23 rows at mid-body (Suppl. material 1; Camper et al. 2021). Ninia guytudori sp. nov. differs from trans-Andean populations of N. atrata by having a white (instead of red, orange, or yellow) nuchal collar ( Angarita-Sierra 2009), ventral surface of tail obscured by dark gray pigment (instead of uniformly cream; Angarita-Sierra and Lynch 2017), nasal divided, and by having the sulcate surface of the hemipenial body ornamented with a large basal hooked spine (photo of QCAZR 11960 depicted in Guerra-Correa 2020).
Description of holotype.
Subadult female, 218 mm TL; 35 mm CL; 183 mm SVL; CL/SVL ratio 0.19; head distinct from body; HL 11.4 mm; HW 6.6 mm; rostral wider than high; internasals wider than long (1.2 × 0.6 mm); internasal suture 0.6 mm; prefrontals longer than internasals, as wide as long (1.9 × 1.9 mm; suture 1.9 mm); frontal U-shaped and as long as wide (2.6 × 2.6 mm); parietals longer than wide (4.1 × 2.2 mm); interparietal suture 2.7 mm; supraoculars 1/1, each longer than wide (1.2 × 0.8 mm), entering orbit and contacting postocular; nasal scales 2/2 where anterior nasal scale contacts internasal, rostral, first supralabial, and posterior nasal in contact with loreal, prefrontal, internasal, first and second supralabials; loreal single, longer than high (1.7 × 1.1 mm), entering orbit and in contact with 2nd and 3rd supralabials; postoculars 2/2; temporal formulae 1+2, anterior temporal scale 1.4 × longer than lower posterior temporal; anterior temporal in contact with 5th and 6th supralabials; supralabials 7/8; 3rd-4th or 4th and 5th entering orbit, 5th in contact with postocular; infralabials 7/8, 1st-4th/1st-5th in contact with two pairs of chin shields; dorsal scales in 19/19/19 rows, keeled, strongly striated, lacking apical pits; ventrals 138; divided subcaudals 44; cloacal plate undivided.
Natural history.
Specimens of Ninia guytudori sp. nov. have been found active at night on leaf-litter in old-growth cloud forest. During the daytime, they have been found hidden under rotten logs. When threatened, individuals flatten the body and tail (Fig. 8b View Figure 8 ).
Distribution.
Ninia guytudori sp. nov. is endemic to an estimated area of 3,432 km2 along the Pacific slopes of the Andes in northwestern Ecuador. The species is known from 11 localities (listed in Suppl. material 3) and has been recorded at elevations 1190-1676 m above sea level (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ).
Etymology.
The specific epithet guytudori is a patronym honoring Guy Tudor, an all-around naturalist and scientific illustrator with a deep fondness for birds and all animals, in recognition of the impact he has had on the conservation of South America’s birds through his artistry. For many years, Tudor and Bob Ridgely partnered in the preparation of numerous well-regarded volumes on the Neotropical avifauna.
Conservation status.
We consider Ninia guytudori sp. nov. to be included in the Near Threatened conservation category following the IUCN criteria ( IUCN 2012), because the species has been recorded in more than 10 localities (listed in Suppl. material 3) and it is distributed over an area which retains the majority (~53%) of its forest cover ( MAE 2012). Therefore, the species is facing no major immediate extinction threats. However, some populations are likely to be declining due to deforestation by logging and large-scale mining, especially in the province Imbabura ( Guayasamin et al. 2019), where only two populations of the species are known.
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