Amphisbaena carvalhoi GANS, 1965
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Amphisbaena carvalhoi
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| Higher Taxa | Amphisbaenidae, Amphisbaenia, Lacertoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Carvalho Worm Lizard Portuguese: Cobra-de-Duas-Cabeças, Cobra-Cega |
| Synonym | Amphisbaena carvalhoi GANS 1965: 625 Amphisbaena carvalhoi — PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970: 30 Amphisbaena lumbricalis VANZOLINI 1996 Amphisbaena lumbricalis — GANS 2005: 16 Amphisbaena carvalhoi — GANS 2005: 12 Amphisbaena lumbricalis — GOMES-TAVARES et al. 2021 Amphisbaena carvalhoi — DANTAS-SALES et al. 2024 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Pernambuco) Type locality: Pocão, Serra de Acahy, Municipio de Pesqueira, Pernambuco, Brazil, 1035 m. elevation. lumbricalis: Brazil (on the Rio Sao Francisco, between the states of Alagoas and Sergipe, Pernambuco, Paraíba); Type locality: Brazil: Alagoas: Planta Hidroelectrica de Xingo, Bajo Rio San Francisco, left side. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: MNRJ R2095. Paratypes: MNRJ R1759, R2093, 2094, R2096–2098, SU 17289,17290. Holotype: MZUSP 79433. Paratypes: MZUSP 79434–79490 (57 specimens), same data as the holotype; MZUSP 79419–79432 (14 specimens), right side of the river, Sergipe [lumbricalis] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. Comparisons are made with all species of Amphisbaenidae from South America. The presence of a round head distinguishes Amphisbaena carvalhoi from A. anomala and all species of Leposternon (head shovel- shaped), and from A. acrobeles, A. bilabialata, A. kingii, and Mesobaena spp. (head keel-shaped). Among species with a round head, the presence of four precloacal pores in A. carvalhoi (97% of examined specimens) distinguishes it from (number of pores inside parentheses) A. maranhensis and A. uroxena (0), A. dubia and A. hiata (0 in females, 2 in males), A. absaberi, A. anaemariae, A. brevis, A. caiari, A. carli, A. crisae, A. filiformis, A. kiriri, A. leeseri, A. longinqua, A. mebengokre, A. miringoera, A. mitchelli, A. neglecta, A. persephone, A. roberti, and A. silvestrii (2), A. mertensii (5–8), A. pretrei (5–9), A. littoralis (5–6), A. ignatiana, A. kraoh, A. saxosa, and A. stejnegeri (6), A. fuliginosa (6–10), and A. leucocephala (10–13). Among round-headed amphisbaenians from South America with four precloacal pores (Table 3), the absence of median hiatus in the series of pores of A. carvalhoi distinguishes it from A. arenaria, A. bedai, A. borelli, A. brasiliana, A. cuiabana and A. steindachneri (pores separated by a median hiatus). The presence of 223–249 body annuli distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. albocingulata, A. angustifrons, A. arenicola, A. caetitensis, A. camura, A. cegei, A. darwinii, A. heathi, A. heterozonata, A. hogei, A. metallurga, A. mongoyo, A. munoai, A. myersi, A. nana, A. pericensis, A. prunicolor, A. ridleyi, A. rozei, A. slateri, A. slevini, A. spurrelli, A. tiaraju, A. trachura and A. tragorrhectes (body annuli < 223), and from A. arenaria, A. bedai, A. cuiabana, A. hastata, A. occidentalis, A. polygrammica, A. sanctaeritae, A. steindachneri, A. supernumeraria and A. townsendi (body annuli > 256). Additionally, A. carvalhoi possesses 19–26 caudal annuli, which distinguishes it from A. acangaoba, A. angustifrons, A. bahiana, A. brasiliana, A. caetitensis, A. medemi, A. ridleyi and A. steindachneri (caudal annuli < 18), and from A. arda and A. hastata (caudal annuli > 30). The autotomic site on 6th to 10th caudal annulus distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. acangaoba, A. alba, A. angustifrons, A. bahiana, A. brasiliana, A. caetitensis and A. ridleyi (absence of autotomic site), from A. bolivica and A. camura (autotomic site on 3rd to 5th caudal annulus), and from A. hastata and A. hogei (autotomic site on 12th to 16th caudal annulus). In possessing 12–14 dorsal segments at midbody annuli, A. carvalhoi can also be distinguished from A. acangaoba, A. alba, A. angustifrons, A. arda, A. bedai, A. bolivica, A. brasiliana, A. camura, A. cegei, A. hoogmoedi, A. myersi, A. occidentalis, A. plumbea, A. polygrammica, A. ridleyi, A. rozei, A. spurrelli, A. townsendi and A. vermicularis (dorsal segments > 14), and from A. nigricauda and A. sanctaeritae (dorsal segments < 12). Finally, the 16–20 ventral segments at midbody annuli distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. alba, A. arda, A. bolivica, A. camura, A. occidentalis, A. polygrammica and A. townsendi (ventral segments > 21), and from A. rozei, A. sanctaeritae, A. slevini and A. tragorrhectes (ventral segments < 15). The only species that cannot be distinguished from A. carvalhoi by any of the abovementioned characters are A. cunhai, A. elbakyanae, A. frontalis, A. gracilis, A. talisiae and A. vanzolinii. These six species can be distinguished from A. carvalhoi by a combination of other characters, as detailed next (divergent values from A. carvalhoi in parentheses). Amphisbaena carvalhoi is a small amphisbaenid, reaching up to 168.5 mm SVL, being smaller than A. cunhai (maximum SVL 246 mm), A. elbakyanae (maximum SVL 237 mm), A. frontalis (maximum SVL 283 mm) and A. gracilis (maximum SVL 252 mm). The presence of three supralabials, first and second subequal to each other, third the smallest, distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. cunhai (second and third supralabials distinctly smaller than the first one) and A. vanzolinii (only two supralabials). The presence of three infralabials, second by far the largest, distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. cunhai (first and second infralabials subequal to each other) and A. vanzolinii (only two infralabials). The prefrontal suture distinctly longer that frontal and nasal sutures distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. cunhai and A. vanzolinii (nasal suture longer than prefrontal and frontal sutures), and from A. frontalis (frontal suture slightly longer than prefrontal suture). The presence of one pair of enlarged malars distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. elbakyanae, A. gracilis and A. vanzolinii (malar scales absent). The postgenials commonly in two rows of two and three scales, or rarely in two rows of three scales, two rows of three and four scales, or one row of two or three scales distinguish A. carvalhoi from A. cunhai (a single row of postgenials with two or three scales), A. elbakyanae (a single row of postgenials with four scales), A. frontalis (three rows of postgenials or two rows with four and five scales), A. gracilis (two rows of postgenials with four and seven or eight scales), A. talisiae (a single row of postgenials usually with two scales, rarely three), and A. vanzolinii (a single row of postgenials with three scales). The absence of postmalars distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. cunhai, A. elbakyanae and A. gracilis (postmalars present). Finally, the dorsal ground color cream in preservative (pinkish in life) with center of segments brown, and venter immaculate cream, distinguishes A. carvalhoi from A. elbakyanae (dorsal and ventral surfaces homogeneously dark brown or dark-brown-reddish), A. frontalis (dorsal ground color dark brown with center of segments darker), and A. gracilis (dorsal and ventral surfaces dark-purplish color). (DANTAS-SALES et al. 2024) Additional details (4246 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Synonymy: DANTAS-SALES et al. 2024 synonymized Amphisbaena lumbricalis with Amphisbaena carvalhoi. Morphology: This species is one of ~20 species of Amphisbaena with two precloacal pores (Ribeiro et al. 2019). |
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