Bachia alleni (BARBOUR, 1914)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Bachia alleni?
Bachia alleni
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| Higher Taxa | Gymnophthalmidae (Cercosaurinae, Bachiinae), Sauria, Gymnophthalmoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Antillean Bachia, LaGuaira Bachia, Worm lizard S: Falsa vibora común, lagartija lombriz |
| Synonym | Brachypus cuvieri FITZINGER 1826 (nomen nudum) Chalcides Cuvieri — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 453 Chalcis (Brachypus) cuvieri — WAGLER 1830: 196 Scolcecosaurus cuvieri — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839 Scolecosaurus cuvieri — BOULENGER 1885: 416 Scolecosaurus alleni BARBOUR 1914: 315 Scolecosaurus alleni parviceps BARBOUR 1933: 77 Scolecosaurus cuvieri — BRONGERSMA 1946 Bachia cuvieri — VANZOLINI 1961: 204 Scolecosaurus trinitatis — UNDERWOOD 1962: 94 (part.) Bachia alleni alleni — THOMAS 1965: 145 Bachia cuvieri — PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970: 80 Bachia alleni — MERTENS 1972 Bachia heteropa alleni — DIXON 1973: 32 Bachia heteropa alleni — JOHN et al. 2012 Bachia alleni — POWELL & HENDERSON 2017 Bachia alleni — MURPHY et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Grenada and Grenadines. Type locality: “St. George’s, Grenada.” cuvieri: Colombia ?, Brazil ?; Type locality: unknown (fide PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: MCZ 7793 Holotype: lost (formerly NMW) [cuvieri] Holotype: MCZ 32345 [parviceps] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A Bachia with (1) prefrontal scales in medial contact; (2) the second supraocular the longest; (3) the frontonasal is pentagonal; (4) four digits on the manus and pes (phalange formulas: manus 2–3–3–2–0, pes 4–4–2–2–0); (5) a band of eight (7–11) hexagonal scales on the dorsum; (6) scales around mid-body 27–31; (7) transverse dorsal rows 38–41; (8) the fifth upper labial may or may not contact the last supraocular; (9) eight rows of gulars; (10) the second pair of chin shields is not in contact; (11) an interparietal scale is present (Murphy et al. 2019) |
| Comment | Synonymy mostly that of Dixon (1973) and Murphy et al. 2019. SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991 recognize only Bachia heteropa alleni (BARBOUR 1914) as subspecies (besides the nominate form). BAUER & GÜNTHER 1994 list Bachia alleni trinitatis as valid combination. Thomas (1965) considered B. trinitatis to be a subspecies of B. alleni. Later, Donoso-Barros (1968) considered B. marcelae to be a subspecies of B. lineata, retaining B. heteropa and B. alleni as separate species. Status of Brachypus cuvieri Fitzinger 1826. Both Barbour (1933) and Brongersma (1946) consider this a valid name. However, it is without a type locality, and the holotype is lost. The original description does not provide the detail needed for diagnosing the taxon, and while Duméril and Bibron (1839) attempted to give a more accurate description, it too proved to be in error. Barbour (1933) demonstrated that the redescrip- tion was based on three specimens, each a different species. Both Burt and Burt (1931) and Thomas (1965) suspected that Bachia alleni from Grenada should be a junior synonym of Bachia cuvieri. Thomas refrained from this action pending further evidence. Brachypus cuvieri Fitzinger is a nomen dubium (a name of unknown or doubtful application) fide Murphy et al. 2019. Status of the Bequia Island Bachia: uncertain but worthy of future investigation; it is the most northern population of B. alleni (Murphy et al. 2019). Distribution (cuvieri): Distribution in Brazil according to DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839. However, at that time “Colombie” included what is now Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Bachia cuvieri might be a synonym of Scolecosaurus alleni = Bachia heteropa alleni (Barbour 1933 and Dixon 1973). See map in Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2016: 153 (Fig. 4). Distribution (alleni): Not on Tobago (Murphy et al. 2019). Similar species: Bachia alleni has four digits on each limb and usually eight rows of hexagonal scales on the dorsum, two traits that will separate it from Bachia trinitatis (five digits on the manus and usually 10 rows of hexagonal scales). It has prefrontal scales that make medial contact a trait that will separate it from B. heteropa and B. beebei sp. nov. (both lack prefrontal scales). It can be distinguished from B. whitei sp. nov. by the band of hexagonal scales. To separate B. alleni from other former members of the B. heteropa group, see Table 2 in Murphy et al. 2019 Type species: Brachypus cuvieri Fitzinger 1826 is the type species of the genus Scolecosaurus Boulenger 1885:416 (fide Dixon 1973: 14). |
| Etymology | Named after Glover Morrill Allen (1879–1942), US American zoologist. (Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., April 2024) |
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