Amphisbaena carli PINNA, MENDONÇA, BOCCHIGLIERI & FERNANDES, 2010
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Amphisbaena carli
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| Higher Taxa | Amphisbaenidae, Amphisbaenia, Lacertoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | Portuguese: Cobra-de-Duas-Cabeças, Cobra-Cega |
| Synonym | Amphisbaena carli PINNA, MENDONÇA, BOCCHIGLIERI & FERNANDES 2010 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Bahia: SW Cerrado) Type locality: recently deforested Pinus spp. plantation area at Jatobá farm, 14°01’S / 45°54’W, municipality of Jaborandi, southwestern Bahia, Brazil. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MNRJ 19256, adult male, collected at 10:30 on 11 April 2009 by A. Bocchiglieri. Paratypes: Adult male (MNRJ 19257) found road killed between a Cerrado fragment and a Pinus spp. plantation area at Jatobá farm, 14°03’S / 45°52’W, on 30 January 2008 by A. Bocchiglieri and A. F. Mendonça. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Amphisbaena carli is diagnosable from all congeners by the following conjunction of characters: (1) small nasals separated from each other by the rostral; (2) two pre-cloacal pores separated from each other by the cloacal shield; (3) 221–242 body annuli; (4) 10–13 caudal annuli; (5) 21–23 dorsal and 21– 23 ventral segments to a midbody annulus; (6) tail without visible autotomic constriction. Comparisons are based on literature data (Gray 1865; Gans 1964; Gans 1971; Vanzolini 1971; Vanzolini 1991b; Vanzolini 1992; Strüssmann e De Carvalho 2001; Vanzolini 2002; Castro-Mello 2003; Hoogmoed et al. 2009; Mott & Vieites 2009; Ribeiro et al. 2009) and specimens examined (Appendix). In order to make comparisons clear, species were separated by groups reflecting the taxonomy before Mott and Vieites (2009). Amphisbaena carli is distinguished from Mesobaena huebneri Mertens and M. rhachicephala Hoogmoed et al. by having a rounded rostrum, instead of a keel-shaped rostrum in both species of Mesobaena. It also differs from the species of Amphisbaena formally placed at the genus Anops—Amphisbaena bilabialata (Stimson), A. kingii (Bell) and A. acrobeles (Ribeiro et al.)—by having a rounded snout against a vertically keeled rostrum in the later species. It differs from the species of Amphisbaena formally placed at the genus Aulura—Amphisbaena anomala (Barbour)—by having a rounded snout against a shovel-shaped rostrum in the later species. It differs from the species of Amphisbaena formally placed at the genus Leposternon— Amphisbaena infraorbitale (Berthold), A. kisteumacheri (Porto et al.), A. microcephalum (Wagler), A. octostegum (Duméril), A. polystegum (Duméril), A. scutigerum Hemprich and A. wuchereri (Peters)— by having a rounded snout against a shovel-shaped rostrum in the later species. It differs from the species of Amphisbaena formally placed at the genus Cercolophia—Amphisbaena absaberi (Strüssmann & de Carvalho), A. bahiana Vanzolini, A. borellii Peracca, A. cuiabana (Strüssmann & de Carvalho), A. roberti Gans and A. steindachneri Strauch—by having no keeled tail, present in the later species. Amphisbaena carli shares with the species of Amphisbaena formally placed at the genus Bronia— Amphisbaena bedai (Vanzolini), A. brasiliana, A. kraoh (Vanzolini) and A. saxosa— the strongly curved rostrum. Besides, it also shares with A. brasiliana and A. saxosa the nasals separated from each other by the rostral. However, it can be easily distinguished from these four species by having only two pores (against six in A. kraoh and four in A. brasiliana, A. bedai and A. saxosa) and 240–242 body annuli (against 213–229 in A. brasiliana, 253–272 in A. saxosa, 272–284 in A. bedai, and 281 in A. kraoh). It differs from the two-pored species formally placed at the genus Amphisbaena—A. anaemariae Vanzolini, A. brevis Strüssmann & Mott, A. crisae Vanzolini, A. darwini Duméril & Bibron, A. dubia Müller, A. heterozonata Burmeister, A. hiata Montero & Céspedez, A. leeseri Gans, A. miringoera Vanzolini, A. mitchelli Procter, A. neglecta Dunn & Piatt, A. silvestrii Boulenger and A. trachura Cope—by having small nasals separated from each other by the rostral (against large nasals touching each other on the midline in the later species). It is further distinguishable from A. anaemariae, A. brevis, A. crisae, A. darwini, A. dubia, A. heterozonata, A. mitchelli, A. neglecta, A. silvestrii and A. trachura by having 240–242 body annuli (against less than 231 in the other species). Amphisbaena carli can also be distinguished from A. miringoera by having 12–13 caudal annuli (against 22–24) and from A. hiata and A. leeseri, by having no autotomic site (present in those species) [from PINNA et al. 2010]. |
| Comment | The new species is diagnosable by having: small and separated nasal scales; two pre-cloacal pores separated from each other; 221–242 body annuli; 10–13 caudal annuli; 21–23 dorsal and 21–23 ventral segments to a midbody annulus; and tail without visible autotomic constriction. |
| Etymology | Amphisbaena carli is named after Carl Gans (in memoriam), a researcher who contributed immensely to the knowledge of amphisbaenians and whose works were fundamental to the production of this paper. See Adler et al. 2010 for obituaries. |
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