Amphisbaena prunicolor (COPE, 1885)
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Amphisbaena prunicolor
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| Higher Taxa | Amphisbaenidae, Amphisbaenia, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Plum-colored Worm Lizard Portuguese: Anfisbena-Marrom, Cobra-de-Duas-Cabeças-Marrom |
| Synonym | Aporarchus prunicolor COPE 1885: 189 Amphisbaena darwini — BOULENGER 1885: 297 (in part) Amphisbaena prunicolor prunicolor— GANS 1966: 246 Amphisbaena prunicolor — PETERS et al. 1970: 35 Amphisbaena prunicolor— VANZOLINI 2002: 358 Amphisbaena prunicolor — GANS 2005: 19 Amphisbaena prunicolor — PEREZ et al. 2012 Amphisbaena prunicolor — PEREZ & BORGES-MARTINS 2019 |
| Distribution | N Argentina (Corrientes, Misiones), SE Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul to Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro), Paraguay Type locality: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, probably São João do Monte Negro (”where the prinicpal collections were made by H. Smith”). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: ANSP 12969. |
| Diagnosis | Original description from COPE (1885): The genus [Aporarchus] has been defined in the key under the head of the species Anops kingii. It is simply Amphisbaena without preanal pores. The only specimen on which the species rests is of smaller size than those which represent the species enumerated in the above table, excepting the A. occidentalis, which is the smallest of the genus. Rostral plate scarcely visible from above; common suture of nasals short; nasofrontals each as long as broad; frontals each longer than broad; a pair of well distinguished square parietals. Labial, 3-3, the third reaching the ocular, so that there is no subocular. No superciliary or preorbital plate. Three plates in the row from canthus oris to frontal plate. Symphyseal broader than long, truncate posteriorly; postsymphyseal broad as long, subcircular, each half bounded by the postgeneial, and first and second labials to an extent represented by the order of mention. Last inferior labial twice as long as deep. Annuli 186 on the body and 23 on the tail. Preanal scales eight, the row preceded by a groove which is wider than the others. Tail obtuse, caudal annuli entirely smooth. Total length, M. .214; of head to canthus oris, .006; of tail, .029. Color, uniform plum-color above and below, excepting the lower jaw, chin and part of pectoral region and a postanal crescent, which are white. All the grooves of the inferior surface are white also, so that the animal has a latticed appearance below. Diagnosis: Amphisbaena prunicolor is characterized by the following characters: (1) rounded head; (2) tail tip rounded, with smooth segments; (3) four precloacal pores; (4) dark brown, purplish coloration, with uniformly pigmented segments on dorsum and belly with checkered pattern [from PEREZ & BORGES-MARTINS 2019]. Comparison: Amphisbaena prunicolor is distinguished from all species of the A. darwinii complex, mainly by having a dorsal brown-purplish coloration and a ventral pale checkerboard pattern (vs. ventral uniformly colored). It also differs from A. trachura by presenting smooth segments the tail tip (vs. tuberculate segments on tail tip). Differs from A. nigricauda by presenting 181-215 body annuli (vs. 222-226 body annuli). It differs from A. hogei and A. heterozonata by presenting a higher number of caudal annuli, 18-27 (vs. 15-19 and 13-17, respectively). Differs from A. darwinii by its quadrangular parietal shields different from others body shields (vs. parietal region with variable shaped shields nondifferentiable from body shields). It differs from A. albocingulata by presenting a post-malar row (vs. post-malar row absent). Differs from A. munoai by presenting an elongated body, 141-238 mm (SVL) with similar number of body annuli, 181-215 (vs. smaller body, 102-151mm SVL, with similar number of body annuli 202-218 body annuli) and by 5% of 16S rDNA mean genetic distance. It differs from A. arenicola sp. nov. by presenting a longer snout, varying between 44 and 73.5% (x = 55.5±7.4%) of head length (HL) (vs. 42.6-47.9%, (x = 45.9 ± 1.9% of HL) and 4.5% of 16S rDNA mean genetic distance. Differs from Amphisbaena tyaraju sp nov. by presenting a lower distance between ocular shields, varying between 26.8% and 31.9% (x = 29.4 ± 3.6) of HL (vs. larger distance between ocular shields varying between 35.3% and 42.7%, x = 39.5 ± 2.3 of HL) and 5.1% of 16S rDNA mean genetic distance. It differs from A. nana sp. nov. by its similar-sized pre-frontal and frontal shields (vs. reduced frontal shields, smaller than pre-frontal shields) and 4.9% of 16S rDNA mean genetic distance [from PEREZ & BORGES-MARTINS 2019]. See also diagnosis and detailed description in Gans 1966: 246. |
| Comment | Subspecies: Amphisbaena prunicolor albocingulata BOETTGER 1885 is not considered as a valid species. Synonymy: Boulenger (1885) synonymized Aporarchus prunicolor to Amphisbaena darwini, based on the evidence that the holotype was a young specimen in which the pores are undistinguishable (or absent), observation also seen in young specimens of A. darwini by Boulenger (1885). Type Species: Aporarchus prunicolor COPE 1885 is the type species of the genus Aporarchus which is distinguished from Amphisbaena only by the lack of precloacal pores. |
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