Tantilla gottei, McCranie & Smith, 2017

McCranie, James R. & Smith, Eric N., 2017, A Review of the Tantilla taeniata Species Group (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae: Colubrinae) in Honduras, with the Description of Three New Species, Herpetologica 73 (4), pp. 338-348 : 344-346

Tantilla gottei sp. nov.

( Figs. 8 , 9 )

Tantilla taeniata: Wilson and Meyer 1971:32 , in part; Wilson 1982:56, in part; Wilson and Meyer 1982:109, in part; Wilson and Meyer 1985:103, in part; Wilson and McCranie 1999:328, in part; McCranie 2011a:227, in part; McCranie 2011b:44, in part; Wilson and Mata-Silva 2015:457, in part.

Holotype. — ROM 19996 , an adult female from El Picacho (14°07 ′ N, 87°11 ′ W), a zoological park located near Tegucigalpa, 1280 m elevation, department of Francisco Morazán, Honduras, collected 12 December 1986 by Jorge Porras.

Paratypes (n ¼ 4). — UNAH 5394 , an adult male from Galeras (13°55 ′ N, 86°59 ′ W) about 5 km north of Güinope , 860 m elevation, El Paraíso, Honduras ; MCZ R49886 , a juvenile male from El Zamorano (14°00 ′ N, 87°01 ′ W), 800 m elevation, Francisco Morazán, Honduras ; UNAH 3903 , 4833 , a subadult male and an adult male, respectively, from Tegucigalpa (centered at about 14°06 ′ N, 87°12 ′ W), 930– 1000 m elevation, Francisco Morazán, Honduras .

Referred specimens (n ¼ 2). — UNAH 6141 , a dehydrated specimen, from Tegucigalpa (centered at about 14°06 ′ N, 87°12 ′ W), 930–1000 m elevation, Francisco Morazán, Honduras ; UNAH 1765 from Alauca (13°51 ′ N, 86°41 ′ W), 500 m elevation, El Paraíso, Honduras .

Diagnosis. — Tantilla gottei is defined by the following combination of characters: (1) middorsal stripe pale cream (in preservative), extending length of body and most of tail, on vertebral row and adjacent third of paravertebral rows; (2) pale cream (in preservative) lateral stripe occupying adjacent third of scale row 3 and lower three-quarters of scale row 4; (3) ventrolateral area white as is that of lateral stripe (in preservative); (4) lower two-thirds of scale row 1 colored similarly to that of ventrals; (5) lateral edges of ventrals white, except some dark spots present (in preservative); (6) ventral and subcaudal surfaces yellow (in life) and white (in preservative); (7) female with 147 ventrals, male ventrals 142–158, subcaudals 70 in female, 62–67 in males; (8) female tail length 26% of total length, 24–26% in males.

Tantilla gottei most closely resembles T. taeniata in having low numbers of ventral scales, but differs in having yellow ventral surfaces in life, and by having a pale brown internasal crossbar that is confluent with the pale lateral spot anterior to the eye, (vs. ventral surfaces pale purplish pink grading to darker salmon color on posterior two-thirds of body and tail in life, and in lacking a internasal crossbar).

Tantilla gottei differs from T. impensa , T. olŋmpia , and T. stenigrammi by having the middorsal pale stripe involving all of vertebral scale row and adjacent third to half of paravertebral scale rows (vs. middorsal stripe confined to vertebral row in those three species, with that of T. olŋmpia also reduced to a series of dashes; but that stripe also extends onto adjacent edges of paravertebral scale rows posteriorly on body in T. stenigrammi ). Tantilla gottei differs further from T. impensa and T. stenigrammi in having 142–152 ventrals in both sexes combined (vs. ventrals 161–172 in T. impensa , and 159 in one T. stenigrammi ), and further from T. impensa in having 204–217 ventral plus subcaudal scales in both sexes combined (vs. 233–240). Tantilla gottei differs further from T. olŋmpia in having 62–70 subcaudals in both sexes combined and having a complete pale lateral stripe (vs. 49 subcaudals and pale lateral stripe reduced to dots in T. olŋmpia ). Tantilla gottei differs from T. excelsa in having 142–152 ventrals and 204–217 ventral plus subcaudal scales in both sexes combined and having a pale brown internasal crossbar that is confluent with the pale lateral spot anterior to the eye (vs. 161–178 ventrals and 222–239 ventral plus subcaudal scales, and internasal crossbar absent). Tantilla gottei differs from T. psittaca by having yellow ventral and subcaudal surfaces in life and cream in preservative and in having 142–152 ventrals and 204–217 ventrals plus subcaudals in both sexes combined (vs. those surfaces pink and grading to red in life and pale brown medially and pale brown with pinkish tinge on posterior third of body and under tail in preservative, and 153–163 ventrals and 216–234 ventrals plus subcaudals). Tantilla gottei differs from T. tritaeniata in having 142–152 ventrals in both sexes combined and having a complete pale nuchal collar (vs. 155–161 ventrals and pale nuchal collar divided).

Description of holotype. —A subadult female; TOL 367 mm; SVL 270 mm; TAL 97 mm (26.4% of TOL); HL 10.8 mm; HW 5.6 mm (between level of angle of mouth and eye); head barely distinct from neck; snout broadly rounded in dorsal view; eye length 1.4 mm; snout length 3.3 mm, about 2.4 times longer than eye; pupil circular; rostral about 1.4 times wider than high (2.2 X 1.6 mm); internasal length about 0.7 times of width (1.1 X 1.6 mm); prefrontal about 1.7 times larger than internasal (1.9 X 1.1 mm), as wide as long (both dimensions 1.9 mm); median prefrontal suture 1.6 mm, about 0.5 times as long as frontal (1.6 X 3.5 mm); frontal with slight anterior extension, V-shaped posteriorly, about 1.3 times longer than wide (3.5 X 2.7 mm), about 1.1 times longer than distance from its anterior edge to tip of snout (3.1 mm); parietal about 1.5 times longer than wide (4.4 X 3.0 mm), median suture length 2.8 mm, about 0.8 times length of frontal; parietals contacting six nuchal scales; supraocular about 1.9 times longer than wide (2.6 X 1.4 mm), bordering orbit, contacting parietal, upper postocular, preocular, and prefrontal.

Nasal divided; anterior nasal contacting rostral, internasal, and supralabial 1; posterior nasal contacting internasal, prefrontal, preocular, and supralabials 1 and 2; nostril located in central portion of nasal (forming division of nasal); loreal absent; preocular single, not higher than long (1.3 X 1.4 mm), lower edge contacting supralabials 2 and 3; postoculars 2, upper about same size as lower (height of both scales 0.9 mm); temporals 1 þ 1, anterior temporal 1.3 times longer than high (1.8 X 1.4 mm), posterior temporal 1.3 times longer than high (1.9 X 1.5 mm); supralabials 7, 3 and 4 bordering orbit, 4 and 5 contacting lower postocular, 5 contacting anterior temporal and lower postocular, 6 contacting anterior temporal, and 7 contacting anterior and posterior temporals; infralabials 6, 1–4 contacting anterior pair of chinshields, first infralabial on each side separated medially by contact with anterior chinshield; mental about 0.9 times as wide as long (1.8 X 1.9 mm), contacting first pair of infralabials and anterior pair of chinshields; anterior chinshields about 1.6 times longer than wide (2.2 X 1.4 mm), not extending laterally to border of lip; posterior pair of chinshields about 1.7 times longer than wide (1.7 X 1.0 mm), posterior tips separated from each other by one gular scale; four preventral scales present between gular and first ventral; dorsal scales in 15–15–15 transverse rows, smooth throughout, lacking apical pits and supracloacal tubercles; dorsal scales in six rows at level of 10th subcaudal; ventrals 147; cloacal scute divided; subcaudals 70, paired; ventrals plus subcaudals 217.

Color of holotype in life. —Nothing was recorded on color in life of the holotype, other than that the ventral and subcaudal surfaces were yellow (J. Porras, personal communication).

Color of holotype in preservative ( Figs. 8 , 9 ). —Dorsal surfaces brown with pale cream nuchal collar and pale cream middorsal and white lateral stripes; pale middorsal stripe on vertebral row and adjacent third of paravertebral rows; pale middorsal stripe slightly narrowing anteriorly on first scale involved in stripe; pale middorsal stripe extending onto tail to nearly its tip; pale middorsal stripe beginning on fifth scale posterior to parietals; pale lateral stripe present on upper two-thirds of scale row 3 and lower three-quarters of scale row 4, bordered above by continuous, thin dark brown line on upper quarter of scale row four and below by incomplete dark brown line on lower third of scale row 3; pale lateral stripe beginning on scale 5 posterior to supralabial 7, extending well onto tail; lower two-thirds of scale row 1 cream; upper third of scale row 1 and all of scale row 2 same shade of brown as dorsal ground color; pale nuchal collar complete, involving posterior tips of parietals plus ~ 1.5 scale rows dorsally, pale nuchal collar also involving posterior third of ultimate supralabial plus one scale row laterally; dorsal surface of head generally brown, except distinct pale brown crossbar involving most of internasals and anterior third of prefrontals, pale crossbar confluent with pale cream lateral spot anterior to eye; lateral pale spot involving postnasal, supralabial 1, and anterior third of supralabial 2; larger pale cream spot also present posterior to eye, involving all of supralabial 5, anterior edge of supralabial 6, and posterior half of supralabial 4, pale spot extending dorsally to cover about anterior half of anterior temporal, and lower postocular; dark brown lateral bar covering posterior twothirds of anterior temporal, all of posterior temporal, and posterior three-quarters and anterior two-thirds of supralabials 6 and 7, respectively; dark brown lateral bar continuous with dorsal surface of head color; dark brown mottling and tiny spots present on mental and first infralabial, respectively; dark brown spot also present on anterior tips of infralabial four; ventral surface of head pale cream; ventral surface of body cream for full length, pale pigment also extending onto lower tips of scale row 1 on body; subcaudal surface cream, except upper tips of subcaudal scales dark brown.

Variation in paratypes. —The four male paratypes show the following variation: TOL 165–343 mm (mean ± 1 SD, 265.8 ± 75.1 mm); SVL 125–254 mm (199.5 ± 54.9 mm); TAL 24–26% of TOL; ventrals 142–158 (147.3 ± 4.1); subcaudals 62–67 (64.0 ± 2.2); and ventrals plus subcaudals 204–215 (211.3 ± 5.0). Some of the paratypes were recorded to have slightly narrower pale lateral stripes than the holotype, with those variations involving the adjacent thirds of scale rows 3 and 4.

Distribution and habitat. —Almost nothing is known about the habitats of Tantilla gottei , except the low montane habitats where this species was collected are in pine forest in the south-central portion of Honduras (Premontane Moist Forest of Holdridge 1967), with one exception. That exception is a single locality in Lowland Dry Forest ( Holdridge 1967). The holotype was collected alive by a worker on the grounds of the El Picacho Zoo during December. One paratype (MCZ R49886) was collected during May. The known elevational range is 500–1280 m.

The known geographical distribution of Tantilla gottei is from the upper Río Choluteca drainage, in the vicinity of the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Francisco Morazán, east- and southeast-ward to the south-central portion of the department of El Paraíso ( Fig. 5 ) along the middle portion of the Río Choluteca. Anthropogenic alteration of forest habitats in recent times has further isolated these localities. In addition, most of those surviving pine forests are burned on an annual basis. Those repeated burnings serve to have a permanent drying effect on those burned areas. Therefore, T. gottei should be considered an endangered species.

Etymology. —The name gottei is a patronymic noun honoring Steve W. Gotte, a long-time friend of the first author, who also made several field trips with JRM to Honduras. Steve has also been a long-term employee of the US Department of Interior at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, and most recently in Suitland, Maryland.

Figures

FIG. 8.—Tantilla gottei holotype (ROM 19996), an adult female. Total length of head, body, and tail ¼ 367 mm. Image taken by JRM (UTADC 8867). A color version of this figure is available online.

FIG. 9.—Lateral view of the head and body of the Tantilla gottei holotype (ROM 19996). Head length ¼ 10.8 mm. Image taken by JRM (UTADC 8868). A color version of this figure is available online.

FIG. 5.—Map showing localities for the species of the Tantilla taeniata group known to occur in Honduras, including three new species (T. excelsa, T. gottei, and T. stenigrammi). Type localities are indicated by filled symbols. Known localities in adjacent Guatemala are shown for T. impensa.