Riolama stellata RECODER, PRATES, MARQUES-SOUZA, CAMACHO, SALES-NUNES, VECHIO, GHELLERE, MCDIARMID & RODRIGUES, 2020
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Riolama stellata
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| Higher Taxa | Gymnophthalmidae (Riolaminae), Sauria, Gymnophthalmoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Riolama stellata RECODER, PRATES, MARQUES-SOUZA, CAMACHO, SALES-NUNES, VECHIO, GHELLERE, MCDIARMID & RODRIGUES 2020 Riolama sp. nov. b — MCDIARMID et al., 1988: 669 Riolama sp. B (Neblina) — MCDIARMID & DONNELLY 2005: 515, 540 Riolama sp. B (Neblina) — KOK 2015: 501, fig. 7 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Amazonas) Type locality: ‘Bacia do Gelo’, in the highlands of the Serra da Neblina, Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina, Santa Isabel do Rio Negro, Amazonas State, Brazil (0°47’34”N, 66°01’30”W; 2000 m a.s.l., datum WGS84) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MZUSP 116616, male (field number MTR 40262; Figs 8B, 10), collected on 18 November 2017 by M. T. Rodrigues, A. Camacho, F. Dal Vechio, I. Prates, J. M. Ghellere, R. Recoder and S. Marques-Souza. Paratypes: Five individuals from Camp II, 3.5 km north-east of Pico Phelps, Cerro de la Neblina, Departamento Río Negro, Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela (00°50’12”N, 65°58’48”W; 2085 m a.s.l), USNM 284491 (field number RWM 17671), USNM 284489 (RWM 17680), collected by Alfred L. Gardner on 31 January 1985; USNM 562652 (RWM 17651), on 29 January 1985, and USNM 562653 (RWM 17659), USNM 284490 (RWM 17660), on 30 January 1985, collected by Roy W. McDiarmid; USNM 284492 (RWM 17284), from Camp II, 2.8 km north-east of Pico Phelps, Cerro de la Neblina, Departamento Río Negro, Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela (00°50’00”N, 65°58’48”W; 2085–2100 m a.s.l), collected by Roy W. McDiarmid on 21 February 1984; USNM 562654 (ALG 14138), from Camp II, 2.5 km north-east of Pico Phelps, Cerro de la Neblina, Departamento Río Negro, Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela (00°50’04”N, 65°58’48”W; 2085 m a.s.l), collected by Alfred L. Gardner on 20 March 1984. Paratopotypes: MZUSP 116617 (field number MTR 40309) an adult male; MZUSP 116618 (MTR 40312) an adult female, and MZUSP 116619 (MTR 40313), a juvenile male, all from the same locality as the holotype (0°47’34”–0°47’37”N; 66°01’25”–66°01’33”W) collected between 18 November and 20 November 2017, by the same collectors as the holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The generic diagnosis of R. stellata follows that presented for R. grandis. Riolama stellata is distinguished from the remaining species of Riolama by the following combination of traits: (1) a small body size for the genus (maximum SVL 52.9 mm); (2) head short, HL 0.19 (± 0.01) times SVL; (3) dorsal scales at midbody slightly hexagonal, imbricate, broadly keeled, length 2.5–2.9 times width, dorsal rows clearly defined; (4) 33–38 transverse rows of dorsal scales; (5) 34–38 total scales around midbody; (6) six longitudinal rows of ventral scales; (7) 17–22 transverse rows of ventral scales; (8) 14–23 temporal scales; (9) six to seven supralabials on each side; (10) six to seven infralabials on each side; (11) five to seven scales in the occipital row; (12) five to seven scales in the postoccipital row; (13) eight to 11 femoral pores on each side; (14) short limbs, HLL 0.37 (± 0.02) times SVL, when limbs appressed to trunk, tip of fourth finger overlaps hindfoot to middle of third toe; (15) subdigital lamellae under fourth finger: 11–13; (16) subdigital lamellae under fourth toe: 14–19; (17) tongue surface entirely covered with plicae arranged in chevrons with anteromedial apices; (18) head and body dark (in alcohol), head dorsally and ventrally spotted with cream dots, body unspotted dorsally, ventrally black and heavily spotted with cream dots; (19) chin dark, blotched with cream marks; and (20) hemipenis with laterals consisting of a series of roughly equidistant and moderately developed flounces, each bearing a single spine; absence of the distinctly enlarged hook-shaped spine at the centre of the hemipenial flounces row. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is the Latin adjective stellatus, which means ‘starred’, referring to the ventral and lateral colour pattern composed of light dots scattered on a dark background, which resemble a starry night sky. |
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