Epictia magnamaculata TAYLOR, 1940
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Epictia magnamaculata
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| Higher Taxa | Leptotyphlopidae, Epictinae, Epictini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Western Caribbean Threadsnake, Black Blind Snake |
| Synonym | Glauconia albifrons — BOULENGER 1893: 63 (part) Leptotyphlops albifrons — BARBOUR 1914:324 (part) Glauconia (Leptotyphlops) albifrons — WERNER 1925: 540 (part) Leptotyphlops magnamaculata TAYLOR 1939: 532 Leptotyphlops phenops phenops — SMITH & TAYLOR 1945: 24 (part) Leptotyphlops albifrons magnamaculata — DUNN & SAXE 1950 Leptotyphlops phenops — MEYER 1969: 409 (part) Leptotyphlops goudotii magnamaculatus — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970 Leptotyphlops goudotii goudotii — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970 Leptotyphlops goudoti — SCHWARTZ & THOMAS 1975: 189 (part) Leptotyphlops goudoti magnamaculata — SCHWARTZ & THOMAS, 1975: 189 Leptotyphlops goudoti magnamaculatus — MACLEAN et al. 1977: 4 Leptotyphlops goudotii magnamaculatus — HAHN 1980: 15 Leptotyphlops goudotti (sic) — WILSON & MEYER 1985: 20 Leptotyphlops goudotii — THOMAS et al. 1985: 220 Leptotyphlops goudotti goudotti (sic) — LANCINI 1986: 170 (part) Leptotyphlops tenella — MALHOTRA & THORPE 1999: 71 Leptotyphlops tenellus — HENDERSON 2004: 312. Leptothyphlops (sic) albiprons (sic) — HOWARD et al. 2004: 112 Leptotyphlops magnamaculatus — ADALSTEINSSON 2008: 25–26 37 Leptotyphlops goudotii magnamaculata — ADALSTEINSSON et al. 2009: 17. Epictia magnamaculata — ADALSTEINSSON et al. 2009 Epictia goudotii — UGUETO & RIVAS 2010: 216 Leptotyphlops albifrons magnamaculatus — CORAL-ENRÍQUEZ 2011: 7. Crishagenus magnamaculata — HOSER 2012: 33. Epictia goudotti (sic) — RIVAS et al. 2012: 27. Leptotyphlops albifrons margaritae — WALLACH et al. 2014: 277. Epictia magnamaculata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 277 Epictia magnamaculata — MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2016 |
| Distribution | Mexico (Quintana Roo: Cozumel Island); Honduras (Islas de la Bahía [Bay Islands]: Bahía, Barbareta, Cayo Cochino Grande, Cayo Cochino Pequeño, Guanaja, Roatán, Utila; Islas del Cisne [Swan Islands]: Isla Pequeña [Little Swan], and Isla Grande [Big Swan]); Colombia (Isla San Andres, Isla Providencia, Santa Catalina) Type locality: Isla Utila, Islas de la Bahia, Honduras, 16°06'N, 86°55'W, elevation 0–20 m |
| Reproduction | oviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: USNM 54760, female |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. Epictia magnamaculata is distinguished from all congeners by the following combination of characters: snout slightly truncate in dorsal and ventral view, rounded in lateral view; supraocular present, not in contact with first supralabial; first supralabial longer, reaching eye level; rostral scale subtriangular in dorsal view; ocular hexagonal with straight shape at the eye level; supraocular longer than frontal scale; temporal indistinct; fused caudals absent; two supralabials (1+1); four infralabials; 245–262 middorsal scales; 237–246 midventral scales; 15–18 subcaudal scales; 10 scales around the middle of tail; seven dorsal scale rows dark brown in the centre of scales with paler border forming longitudinal zig-zag lines; seven lateroventral scale rows brown in the centre of scales with border lighter forming soft zig-zag lines; gular region paler than venter (from PINTO-RICHARD et a. 2010). Diagnosis. Epictia magnamaculata, along with E. goudotii and E. phenops, are the three species of the E. goudotii Species complex studied herein that have a frontal (prefrontal) scale. Epictia magnamaculata differs from E. goudotii in always having distinct black and brown body stripes on an overall black ground color, a distinct pale snout spot that almost always extends onto the adjacent edges of the upper nasal scales, and a distinct pale tail spot (versus pale snout spot very indistinct to distinct, spot usually confined to rostral, extending onto adjacent edges of upper nasal in one of five; pale tail spot nearly absent to indistinct in E. goudotii). Epictia magnamaculata differs from E. phenops in always having distinct black and brown body stripes on an overall black ground color, a distinct pale snout spot that almost always extends onto the adjacent edges of the upper nasal scales, and a distinct pale tail spot that is usually larger dorsally than ventrally (versus dark brown body stripes usually indistinct, pale snout spot very indistinct to distinct with the spot usually confined to rostral when distinct, and pale tail spot larger ventrally than dorsally in E. phenops). The rare E. magnamaculata specimen that lacks a frontal scale (3 of 58 individuals) differs from the two species that also lack a frontal (prefrontal) scale (E. ater and E. phenops) in having distinct black and brown body stripes, a distinct pale snout spot that almost always extends onto the adjacent edges of the upper nasal scales, and a distinct pale tail spot [MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2016: 15]. Diagnosis: (1) scale row formula = 14-14-14; (2) midtail scale rows = 10; (3) total length = 76–220 (x– = 141.5) mm; (4) total midodrsals = 219–262 (x– = 238.7); (5) subcaudals = 15–21 (x– = 17.3); (6) relative body propor- tion = 38–72 (x– = 53.6); (7) relative tail length = 4.8%–8.5% (x– = 6.2%); (8) relative tail width = 2.8–5.9 (x– = 3.8); (9) relative rostral width = 0.22–0.50 (x– = 0.35); (10) relative eye size = 0.40–0.54 (x– = 0.47); (10) rostral sagittate with rounded apex; (11) supralabials 2, moderate anterior supralabial reaching mid-eye level; (12) frontal subtran- gular, as long as broad; (13) supraoculars large and pentagonal, 11⁄2 times as broad as deep, with posterior borders parallel to posterior borders of supranasal; (14) widest anteriormost vertebral scale 5th; (15) parietals and occipitals subequal, oriented transversely; (16) infralabials 4; (17) cloacal shield subtriangular in shape; (18) head brown, with large pale rostral spot covering scales adjacent to rostral; (19) dorsum with 11 brown stripes of rectangular- or diamond-shaped spots bordered by broad yellow stripes (= 11 dark stripes); (20) midventral 3 rows uniform pale brown or gold; (21) midbody stripe formula (3 + 3/3 + 1/1) and middorsal pattern (3D + 4L); (22) tail with a pale terminal spot covering the 0–6 (x– = 4.2) dorsal scales and 0–7 (x– = 3.9) ventral scales (ventral/dorsal ratio 0.9); and (23) apical spine horizontally-compressed into broad vertical blade, sometimes with paired points (Wallach 2016: 241). Detailed description: McCranie 2011: 47 |
| Comment | Distribution: this species is an island endemic; not on the Mesoamerican mainland (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua), nor Costa Rica or Panama, but only on offshore islands fide Savage (2002, and pers. comm. 15. Aug 2015). Not in Venezuela either (Natera-Mumaw et al. 2015). See map in MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2016: Fig. 4. Not on Trinidad, Bonaire I, Margarita I, fide Wallach 2016: 246. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is derived from the Latin magnus, meaning large, and macula, meaning spot, a reference to the large yellow spot on the snout of the snake. |
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