Henrique Caldeira Costa

Lizards and Amphisbaenians, municipality of Viçosa, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

We performed a survey of lizards and amphisbaenians from municipality of Vicosa, in Atlantic Forest from state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, based on data of the herpetological collections of Museu de Zoologia Joao Moojen , Universidade Federal de Vicosa , and Museu de Zoologia , Universidade de Sao Paulo . One hundred and forty six specimens of 14 species were analyzed, belonging to the following families: Amphisbaenidae, Anguidae, Gekkonidae, Gymnophthalmidae, Leiosauridae, Polychrotidae, Scincidae, Teiidae and Tropiduridae. We hope to supply basic that helps to understand species distribution of this group in the Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais and southeastern Brazil.

A new Amphisbaena (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) from southern Espinhaço Range, southeastern Brazil

A new species of Amphisbaena is described from a semi-deciduous forest in Conceição do Mato Dentro, southern Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The following combined characters can diagnose the new species from all congeners: head round-shaped; two or three precloacal pores sequentially arranged; 190-199 body annuli; 2-3 lateral annuli; 23-25 caudal annuli; autotomy sites on caudal annuli 7-9; 12-14 dorsal segments on midbody annulus; 14-16 ventral segments on midbody annulus; three supralabials; three infralabials; postmalar row present or absent; dorsum light brown, with cream intersegmental sutures; venter cream. To date, the new species is known only from the Espinhaço Range, highlighting the importance of conservation actions for these mountains.

Bothriopsis bilineata bilineata (Wied, 1821) (Serpentes: Viperidae): new records in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Rondônia, northern Brazil

Although widely distributed in the Brazilian Amazonia, there are few published records of Bothriopsis bilineata in this region, with large gaps between them. This scarcity of reports of B. bilineata in nature may be caused by its arboreal habits, cryptic color, and a possible low density in many areas. Here we provide new registers of the subspecies B. b. bilineata , improving the knowledge of its distribution.

Reptilia, Leptotyphlopidae, Leptotyphlops salgueiroi Amaral, 1954: distribution extension and geographic variation

The genus Leptotyphlops Fitzinger, 1843 comprises 105 species of small and slender fossorial snakes (see McDiarmid et al. 1999; Dixon and Vaughan 2003; Passos et al. 2006; Broadley and Walach 2007; Hedges 2008) that occur in all continents with exception of Antarctica and Australia (McDiarmid et al. 1999). In South America, Leptotyphlops has a wide distribution range, from Venezuela to northern Argentina (McDiarmid et al. 1999). Fourteen species are found in Brazil (Bérnils 2009), but due to their secretive habits, are poorly represented in herpetological collections (Passos et al. 2005). Amaral (1954) described Leptotyphlops salgueiroi (Figure 1) on the basis of a single specimen from Itá (currently Baixo Guandu), state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Rodrigues (1997) briefly described a second individual of the species from São José do Macuco (currently São José da Vitória), state of Bahia, Brazil. Passos et al. (2005) redescribed the holotype, reported new specimens and localities, and described the hemipenis of L. salgueiroi. Bilate and Ribeiro (2005) reported the southernmost record of the species in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The correct authorship and date of lizard names Teiinae, Tupinambinae, and Gymnophthalmidae.

Teiidae and Gymnophthalmidae are lizard families endemic to the Neotropical region (Vitt & Caldwell 2014), with about 150 and 245 valid living species, respectively (Uetz & Hošek 2015). Extinct teiid taxa are known from the Cretaceous to the Holocene (Albino 2005; Estes 1983b; Sullivan & Estes 1997). The authorship of Teiidae is undoubtedly attributed to Gray (1827) (ICZN 1985), but there is some confusion in literature regarding its subfamilies Teiinae and Tupinambinae. The same is true for Gymnophthalmidae. We investigated those issues through a literature review, found the source of mistakes and suggest what we consider be the correct authorship and dates for those family-group names.

A New Species of Helicops (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Hydropsini) from Southeastern Brazil

Abstract:  Helicops is a genus of Neotropical watersnakes containing 16 species. Based on morphological (scale counts, dentition, coloration, and hemipenis anatomy) and genetic data (16S rRNA and C-mos genes), we identify a new species of this genus. The new taxon is diagnosed by having 17-17-15 dorsal scale rows; 111–117 ventral plates; 41–56 subcaudals without keels; nasal entire; 18–21 + 2 maxillary teeth; hemipenis bilobed, semicalyculate, and semicapitate; dorsum uniformly medium brown or dark brown; venter cream or light brown with two medial rows of black markings, usually semilunar in shape. The new species occurs from southeastern to northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Redescription of the rare South American worm lizard Amphisbaena rozei (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Amphisbaena rozei is endemic to the Caura River basin in Venezuela, and known only from the holotype and one paratype. Its original description is very brief, lacking relevant information used by taxonomists today. Additionally, A. rozei appears to be similar to A. spurrelli, a species from northwestern Colombia and southern Panama. We present a redescription of A. rozei based on the examination of the type specimens and compare this taxon to the other known South American amphisbaenids, especially A. spurrelli. We conclude A. rozei is a valid name, and the species is diagnosed mainly by the presence of four precloacal pores, a lateral sulcus, 205–209 body annuli, 20 caudal annuli, 15–16 dorsal and 14 ventral segments on a midbody annulus, and dorsal surface of tail covered by strong tubercles.

A New Species of Amphisbaena from Northeastern Brazil (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Abstract We describe a new species of Amphisbaena from the Caatinga in the northern region of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. The new taxon is identified mainly by having two precloacal pores, 158–165 body annuli, 12–14 caudal annuli with autotomy on the third and fourth annuli, 14–16 dorsal and 15–16 ventral segments on a midbody annulus, four supralabials, three infralabials, and a postmalar row. Its description increases to 23 the number of species of Amphisbaenia for the Caatinga. Knowledge of worm lizard richness has largely increased in Brazil since the 1990s, especially in the Caatinga and the Cerrado, due mainly to collections in previously unsurveyed areas for environmental impact assessments. Resumo Nós descrevemos uma nova espécie de Amphisbaena da Caatinga na região norte da Bahia, nordeste do Brasil. O novo taxon é identificado principalmente por possuir dois poros pré-cloacais, 158–165 anéis corporais, 12–14 anéis caudais com autotomia no terceiro e quarto anéis, 14–16 segmentos dorsais e 15–16 segmentos ventrais em um anel no meio do corpo, quatro supralabiais, três infralabiais, e uma fileira pós-malar. Sua descrição eleva para 23 o número de espécies de Amphisbaenia para a Caatinga. O conhecimento sobre a riqueza de espécies de cobras-de-duas-cabeças tem aumentado intensamente no Brasil desde a década de 1990, especialmente na Caatinga e no Cerrado, em maior parte devido a coletas em áreas previamente não amostradas para fins de estudos de impacto ambiental.

Environmental constraints on the compositional and phylogenetic beta-diversity of tropical forest snake assemblages

The ongoing biodiversity crisis increases the importance and urgency of studies addressing the role of environmental variation on the composition and evolutionary history of species assemblages, but especially the tropics and ectotherms remain understudied. In regions with rainy summers, coexistence of tropical ectothermic species may be determined by the partitioning of the climatic niche, as ectotherms can rely on water availability and thermoregulatory behaviour to buffer constraints along their climatic niche. Conversely, tropical ectotherms facing dry summers would have fewer opportunities to climatic niche partitioning and other processes rather than environmental filtering would mediate species coexistence. We used 218 snake assemblages to quantify the compositional (CBD) and phylogenetic (PBD) beta-diversity of snakes in the Atlantic Forest (AF) hotspot, South America. We identify two AF regions with distinct climatological regimes: dry summers in the northern-AF and rainy summers in the southern-AF. While accounting for the influence of multiscale spatial processes, we disentangle the relative contribution of thermal, water-related and topographic conditions in structuring the CBD and PBD of snake assemblages, and determine the extent in which snake assemblages under distinct climatological regimes are affected by environmental filtering. Thermal conditions best explain CBD and PBD of snakes for the whole AF, whereas water-related factors best explain the structure of snake assemblages within a same climatological regime. CBD and PBD patterns are similarly explained by spatial factors but snake assemblages facing dry summers are more affected by spatial processes operating at fine to intermediate spatial scale, whereas those assemblages in regions with rainy summers have a stronger signature of coarse-scale processes. As expected, environmental filtering plays a stronger role in southern-AF than northern-AF, and the synergism between thermal and water-related conditions is the key cause behind this difference. Differences in climatological regimes within the tropics affect processes mediating species coexistence. The influence of broad-scale gradients (e.g. temperature and precipitation) in structuring tropical ectothermic assemblages is greater in regions with rainy summers where climatic niche partitioning is more likely. Our findings highlight the potential stronger role of biotic interactions and neutral processes in structuring ectothermic assemblages facing changes towards warmer and dryer climates.

Apostolepis parassimilis Lema & Renner, 2012 an objective synonym of A. tertulianobeui Lema, 2004 (Dipsadidae: Elapomorphini).

Lema (2004) described Apostolepis tertulianobeui based on a single specimen (a young male) from “hinterland Minas Gerais state”. The holotype was originally housed in the collection of Instituto Pinheiros Produtos Terapeuticos S.A. and labeled as IP 1934 (Lema 2004). The Instituto Pinheiros was founded in 1928 in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil and became the largest producer of vaccines and antitoxins of the country (Ribeiro 2001). It was purchased in 1972 by the company Sintex do Brasil (Edler 2006) and its former collection was partitioned among several institutions (Lema 2004). As a result, the specimen IP 1934 was donated to the collection of the Museu de Ciencias Naturais from Fundacao Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCN hereafter) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and labeled as MCN 8535 (Fig. 1A–D).