Taxonomy of the Threadsnakes of the tribe Epictini (Squamata: Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) in Colombia

Abstract

Threadsnakes of the tribe Epictini are endemic to the New World, occurring from the United States to Argentina, mostly in the Neotropical region. Currently, the taxonomic status of most species is unclear and there has been no previous attempt of a comprehensive taxonomic revision of Neotropical taxa. Taxonomy of the group is a difficult task due to the paucity of geographic samples, general homogeneous morphology and brevity of species descriptions. Therefore, the only way to address the taxonomic status of existing names is through detailed characterization of the types and the search for additional material of the poorly known species. In this study, we evaluated the taxonomic status of the Colombian threadsnakes and report on geographical variation of meristic, morphometric, colour pattern, and hemipenis characters. On the basis of available samples we recognize the following species in Colombia: Epictia goudotii, E. magnamaculata, E. signata, Rena nicefori, Tricheilostoma brevissimum, T. dugandi, T. joshuai and T. macrolepis. We discuss the systematic position of Rena nicefori and propose its allocation in the genus Tricheilostoma based on a unique combination of morphological characters. Furthermore, we provide a key to the representatives of the tribe Epictini in Colombia.

A century of waiting: description of a newEpictiaGray, 1845 (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) based on specimens housed for more than 100 years in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NMW)

“…In addition, we reviewed data on all known species in the genus Epictia from the following literature sources (original species descriptions and others): Wagler (1824), Schlegel (1839), Duméril & Bibron (1844), Peters (1857), Jan (1861), Cope (1875), Werner (1901), Oliver (1937), Klauber (1939), Taylor (1940), Schmidt & Walker (1943), Smith (1943), Smith & Laufe (1945), Legler (1959), Orejas-Miranda (1961), Orejas-Miranda (1964), Orejas-Miranda (1969), Freiberg & Orejas-Miranda (1968), Peters & Orejas-Miranda (1970), Orejas-Miranda & Zug (1974), Hoogmoed (1977), Zug (1977), Laurent (1984), Lancini & Kornacker (1989), Villa (1990), Vanzolini (1996), Lehr et al. (2002), Duellman (2005), Kretzschmar (2006), Börschig (2007), Boundy & Wallach (2008), Arredondo & Zaher (2010), Pinto et al. (2010), McCranie (2011), Francisco, Pinto & Fernandes (2012), Francisco, Pinto & Fernandes (2018), Esqueda González et al.…”

From the inside out: Discovery of a new genus of threadsnakes based on anatomical and molecular data, with discussion of the leptotyphlopid hemipenial morphology

“…Sex was determined through a ventral incision at the base of the tail. External morphology characters of other Neotropical leptotyphlopids are based on data from: Francisco, Pinto, and Fernandes (); Francisco, Pinto, and Fernandes (); Adalsteinsson et al (); Passos, Caramaschi, and Pinto (), Passos et al (); Pinto, Passos, Portilla, Arredondo, and Fernandes (), Pinto et al (); Pinto and Curcio (); and Pinto and Fernandes (). Comparisons of skull, lower jaw, and cervical vertebrae for Trilepida spp.…”

“…and Rena spp. are based on Kley (); Rieppel, Kley, and Maisano (); Martins (); Pinto et al (); Salazar‐Valenzuela, Martins, Amador‐Oyola, and Torres‐Carvajal (); and Martins, Koch, Pinto, and Passos (in prep; see Material examined). The head and cloacal regions of each specimen were X‐rayed in 3D using a high‐resolution micro‐CT scanner (Bruker SkyScan 1,173) at ZFMK.…”

“…Comparisons with the skulls of Siagonodon , Tetracheilostoma, and Mitophis are based on Martins (). Comparisons of hemipenial morphology are based on Bailey and Carvalho (), Orejas‐Miranda (), Thomas (), Peters and Orejas‐Miranda (), Fabrezi, Marcus, and Scrocchi (), Branch (), Scrocchi (), Cei (), Savage (), Passos et al (), Passos et al (), Pinto et al (), Pinto and Curcio (), and Pinto and Fernandes (). Coloration in life follows Köhler ().…”

Herpetofauna of San José del Guaviare, Guaviare, Colombia

“…It is distributed in Guyana, French Guiana and Venezuela (Orejas-Miranda, 1969;Uetz et al, 2019). Only two specimens had been collected in Colombia (MCZ-R 141087 -Carimagua, Meta, and IBSP 7204 -Unknown location; Pinto et al, 2010;Natera-Mumaw et al, 2015), but the specimen of the Instituto Butantan, Herpetological collection Alphonse Richard Hoge, São Paulo (IBSP), was destroyed by fire of May 15, 2010. For this reason, the two specimens collected in this study are particularly important.…”