Ophiodes enso ENTIAUSPE-NETO, MARQUES-QUINTELA, REGNET, TEIXEIRA, SILVEIRA & LOEBMANN, 2017
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Ophiodes enso
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| Higher Taxa | Diploglossidae, Diploglossa, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Ophiodes enso ENTIAUSPE-NETO, MARQUES-QUINTELA, REGNET, TEIXEIRA, SILVEIRA & LOEBMANN 2017 Ophiodes vertebralis — LEMA 1994: 65 Ophiodes vertebralis —QUINTELA et al., 2006: 61 Ophiodes sp. — QUINTELA and LOEBMANN, 2009: 40 Ophiodes sp. — QUINTELA et al. 2011: 59 Ophiodes enso — SCHOOLS & HEDGES 2021 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) Type locality: Laranjal Beach (-31.7666°S -52.2166°W), altitude approximately 2 m, Patos Lagoon estuary, municipality of Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: FURG (Fundação Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande), given as CHFURG 3589 (Coleção Herpetológica at FURG), an adult female, collected on 29 October 2015 by Daniel Loebmann (Figs. 1, 2). Paratypes. FURG (given as CHFURG) 3564–3587 from type locality; CHFURG 3588 from Barra, municipality of Rio Grande (-32.0350°S -52.0988°W); all specimens collected between 29 October and 3 November 2015 by Daniel Loebmann. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Ophiodes enso sp. n. is distinguished from its congeners based on a combination of: 1) dorsum with three wide, dark brown stripes and two pairs of conspicuous light yellow lines, one paravertebral and another dorsolateral; 2) dark vertebral line absent; 3) lateral background coloration light gray with four to five pale and narrow longitudinal stripes; 4) ventral region uniformly light gray; 5) hind limb extending to the posterior vent scale margin; 6) small eyes, smaller than half of the snout–orbit distance; 7) supralabials with well-defined, although small, supralabial blotches, restricted to their outer margins; 8) 140–151 scales between occipital and vent; 9) supralabials 9/9; 10) supraciliaries 4/4; 11) 22–26 longitudinal scales around midbody. A table of comparative characters is provided (Table 1). Ophiodes enso differs from O. fragilis by: 1) supralabials 1–5 with blackish posterior margins, being conspicuously barred (in O. fragilis supralabials with well-defined bars, and compara- tively darker and longer stripes); 2) darker dorsal background coloration, with marked edges and lighter sides (dorsal and lateral coloration comparatively more uniform in O. fragilis); 3) two pairs of conspicuous dorsal light stripes (a single pair of less-defined dorsolateral light stripes is present in O. fragilis). Ophiodes enso can be distinguished from O. striatus by: 1) supralabials with black blotches (well-defined supralabial bars in O. striatus); 2) flat supraocular region (raised supraocular region in O. striatus); 3) brownish lateral background (vividly greenish sides in O. striatus); 4) two preoculars (three preoculars in O. striatus); 5) 140–151 scales between occipital and vent (147–164 in O. striatus). Ophiodes enso differs from O. vertebralis (Fig. 3) by: 1) absence of dark vertebral line (well-defined vertebral line in O. vertebralis); 2) presence of two conspicuous pairs of light yellow dorsal stripes (a single pair of conspicuous light yellow lateral stripes delimited by adjacent dark lines in O. vertebralis); 3) well-defined, although small, supralabial blotches, restricted to their outer margins (supralabials in O. vertebralis with inconspicuous and irregular black markings); 4) slender rostrum; 5) uniform dorsal head coloration (conspicuous black markings in O. vertebralis, while almost forming a stripe on its supraocular region). Ophiodes enso is distinguished from O. intermedius by: 1) well- defined, although small, supralabial blotches, restricted to their outer margins (well-defined supralabial bars in O. intermedius); 2) absence of dark vertebral stripe (present in O. intermedius); 3) flat supraocular region (supraocular region raised in O. intermedius); 4) presence of two conspicuous pairs of light yellow dorsal stripes delimited by dark lines (a single pair of conspicuous light yellow dorsolateral stripes delimited by dark lines in O. intermedius). Ophiodes enso differs from O. luciae by: 1) blotched supra- labials (supralabials in O. luciae are uniformly colored), 2) flat supraocular region (conspicuously raised supraocular region in O. luciae); 3) comparatively smaller snout–orbit distance; 4) posterior appendage extending beyond the vent scale margin (posterior appendage short, not reaching the vent scale margin in O. luciae); 5) 140–151 scales between occipital and vent (171 in O. luciae); 6) supralabials 9/9 (supralabials 7/8 in O. luciae); 7) supraciliars 4/4 (supraciliars 5/5 in O. luciae); 8) 22–26 longitudinal scales around midbody (instead of 29 in O. luciae). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The species name refers to the Japanese-Buddhism Enso symbol, a hand-drawn circle made in a single or double brushstroke that closely resembles the silhouette of a Ophiodes specimen (Fig. 2). Also noteworthy is that type series of O. enso sp. n. was discovered during the El Niño Southern Oscillation event of 2015 (popularly known as ENSO, which is marked by heavy rainfall), and that event culminated in the movement of the aforementioned type series into the Lagoa dos Patos shores. This is also the first species to be discovered as a result of the ENSO phenomenon. |
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