Tropidophis leonae LANDESTOY, 2023
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Tropidophis leonae
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| Higher Taxa | Tropidophiidae, Henophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Jaragua Golden Trope |
| Synonym | Tropidophis leonae LANDESTOY 2023 |
| Distribution | SW Dominican Republic (Barahona Peninsula) Type locality: limestone foothills of Loma Las Trincheras, Paso Sena, 4 km N of Pedernales, Pedernales Province. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MNHNSD 23.3952 (MALT 723); MPM VZP1072; a female (mass in life 18.3 g) collected on 4 November 2020 by Miguel A. Landestoy T. and Yimell Corona. (Figs. 1, 2, 3A and 3B in Landestoy 2023). Paratype. MNHNSD 23.3951 (MALT 226); MPM VZP1071; a female (mass in life 19.0 g) from the same locality and collectors as the holotype, on 18 November 2018. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A medium-sized (SVL 362–389 mm) species of Tropidophis of slender habitus (body somewhat laterally compressed), a distinctive neck and long snout, small eyes, high ventral scale count, a pale dorsal coloration of yellow-tan to light tan-brown with a dorsal pattern of only four brown spot rows, the middorsal blotches at times in contact or fused, and the lateral spot row much smaller and fainter; a pale yellow venter, and lacking a ventral and head pattern. Tropidophis leonae sp. nov. requires close comparison with the only other Hispaniolan congener, T. haetianus (Figs. 3–5). It differs from parapatric T. haetianus by the following characters (Table I): 1) the smaller size (SVL to 389 vs. to 552 mm in T. haetianus); 2) a higher ventral scale count (216–217 vs. 170–194); 3) the slender and somewhat laterally compressed habitus (vs. robust and cylindrical in T. haetianus); 4) the more distinctive neck (HW/NW 1.6 vs. 1.2–1.5); 5) the longer snout (SNL/HL 0.34 vs. 0.30–0.34); 6) the proportionately smaller eyes (ED/HW 0.20 vs. 0.21–0.30, ED/HL 0.12 vs. 0.13–0.16, ED/SNL 0.36 vs. 0.41–0.50, ED/IND 0.68–0.72 vs. 0.79–1.04); 7) narrower interorbital distance (IOD/HW 0.46–0.47 vs. 0.48–0.60, IOD/HL 0.28 vs. 0.30–0.36); 8) the lower spot row count (4 vs. 8–10, rarely 6 in T. haetianus); 9) spot color in life (milk chocolate brown in T. leonae sp. nov. vs. shades of olive-green freckled with black in T. haetianus); 10) the small and faint lateral spot row (vs. large and well defined spots in T. haetianus; Fig. 3); 11) dorsal area of the head patternless, nearly uniformly orange-tan (vs. head darker than dorsum, often with dark figures); 12) lateral area of the head nearly uniformly tan-brown, with yellow suffusions (vs. a dark olive-brown to blackish mask or eye stripe contrasting with very pale labials and throat; Fig. 5); 13) lacking a ventral pattern (small, irregular yellow-tan smudges limited to edges of some scales vs. large and very dark spots; Fig. 4). The other geographically proximate species to T. leonae sp. nov. is T. bucculentus (from Navassa Island), from which this new species differs by its smaller size (SVL to 389 vs. to 596 mm), a slender habitus (vs. robust), the higher number of ventral scales (216–217 vs. 183–186 in T. bucculentus), the more distinctive neck (HW/NW 1.6 vs. 1.5), smooth dorsal scales (vs. keeled), and in having both fewer spot rows (4 vs. 6) and body spots (43–46 vs. 48–54). Other Caribbean species that warrant comparison with Tropidophis leonae sp. nov. in which overlapping in the ventral scale count occurs, are discarded as follows: T. leonae sp. nov. is distinguished from T. wrighti by virtue of a smaller size (SVL to 389 vs. to 488 mm in T. wrighti; Domínguez et al., 2005), a less distinctive neck (HW/NW 1.6 vs. 1.8–2.2), proportionately smaller eyes (ED/HW 0.20 vs. 0.32–0.34), and more body spots (43–46 vs. 21–37); from T. semicinctus it differs in proportionately smaller eyes (ED/HW 0.20 vs. 0.30–0.34), and both in a higher number of spot rows (4 vs. 2) and body spots (43–46 vs. 17–26); from T. melanurus it differs in the much smaller size (SVL to 389 vs. >1000 mm; Díaz & Cádiz, 2020; Rodríguez-Cabrera et al., 2021), proportionately smaller eyes (ED/HW 0.20 vs. 0.21–0.26), and in the condition of the dorsal scales (smooth vs. keeled); from T. feicki it differs by its smaller size (SVL to 389 vs. to 448 mm), in the less distinctive neck (HW/NW 1.6 vs. 1.8–2.2), proportionately smaller eyes (ED/HW 0.20 vs. 0.28–0.32), and in the higher number of both spot rows (4 vs. 1) and body spots (43–46 vs. 18–29). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Dominican biologist and friend of the author, Yolanda (a.k.a “Yoli”) M. León, a tireless advocate of conservation efforts in the Dominican Republic and whose support also contributed to Landestoy’s work. |
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