Typhlops leptolepis, Domínguez, Michel, Fong, Ansel & Iturriaga, Manuel, 2013

Domínguez, Michel, Fong, Ansel & Iturriaga, Manuel, 2013, A new blind snake (Typhlopidae) from Northeastern Cuba, Zootaxa 3681 (2), pp. 136-146 : 137-144

Typhlops leptolepis sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 2 ; Tables 1, 2)

Holotype. CZACC 4.5395 (field number AFG 303; Fig. 1 ) collected by A. Fong, N. Viña Dávila, and N. Viña Bayés on 5.X.1996 from Altiplanicie del Toldo (20º27'33''N, 74º53'60'' W, 830 m elevation), Moa Municipality, Holguín Province, Cuba.

Paratypes. CZACC 4.5388 collected by L.F. de Armas and L. Echenique on 17.II.1996. CZACC 4.5396 (AFG 379) (20°28'27"N, 74°53'32"W, 860 m elevation) collected by A. Fong and G. Garcés on 24.II.1997. CZACC 4.5528 (20º28'N, 74º54' W, approximately 830 m elevation) collected by L.F. de Armas on 16.III.1996. BSC.H 756–57 (AFG 293–94) (20º27'33''N, 74º53'60'' W, 830 m elevation) collected by N. Viña Bayés and A. Fong on 2.X.1996. BSC.H 759 (AFG 329; Fig. 2 ) (20º28' N, 74º54' W, 900 m elevation) and BSC.H 899 (AFG 451) (20º27'N, 74º53' W, 860 m elevation) collected by A. Fong and N. Viña Dávila on 18.X.1996 and 14.III.1997, respectively. BSC.H 884 (AFG 421) (20º27'17'' N, 74º53'53'' W, 810 m elevation) and BSC.H 1068 (AFG 522) (20º27'08'' N, 74º53'58'' W, 820 m elevation) collected by A. Fong on 6.III.1997 and 16.VI.1997, respectively. BSC.H 860 (AFG 378) (20º27'08'' N, 74º53'58'' W, 820 m elevation) collected by G. Garcés and A. Fong on 21.II.1997. BSC.H 1048 (AFG 504) (20º27'49'' N, 74º54'75'' W, 900 m elevation) collected by A. Fong and L. O. Melián on 11.VI.1997. MNCN 45491 (20º28'38.4'' N, 74º53'20.4'' W, 871 m elevation) collected by Jorgelino Damez Diez (nickname Canelo) on 21.III.2012. All specimens collected in same locality as holotype.

CZACC 4.5389–5390 from La Vigía, Sierra del Cristal, Frank País Municipality, Holguín Province, Cuba, collected by M. Martínez Reyes on VIII.1998 and IX.1999, respectively. BSC.H 1307–08 (AFG 729–30) from cabezadas del río Jaguaní (20º28'32'' N, 74º55'19'' W, 800 m elevation), Sierra de Moa, Moa Municipality, Holguín Province, Cuba collected by A. Fong on 22.XI.1997.

Diagnosis. The small size (<215 mm TL), a single preocular in contact with third supralabial only, 20 anterior scale rows reducing posteriorly to 18 scale rows, and <310 middorsal scale counts associates Typhlops leptolepis with species in the Typhlops lumbricalis species group: T. lumbricalis ( Bahamas Islands); T. oxyrhinus and T. pachyrhinus ( Cuba) ; T. schwartzi , T. tetrathyreus , and T. titanops (Hispaniola) .

The new species can be distinguished from other species in the group by its narrow oval rostral (0.45–0.60 RWD/RLD) in dorsal view with parallel to curved sides, a strong tapering toward anterior tip ( Fig. 1 ), and a distinctive dark umber coloration. It also differs in having a venter color undifferentiated from dorsum, head and neck coloration differentiated from body in ventral view, and a white spot ventrally covering the tail and cloacal opening ( Fig. 2 ).

Typhlops leptolepis also differs from those species by a combination of characters (Table 1), e.g. body size, thin body, snout pattern, number and size of the parietals and occipitals, number of postoculars, divergent postnasal pattern, moderate to high middorsal scale counts (> 250, 278 mean), and reduction of the anterior scale rows at midbody or posterior to midbody (67% TL maximum, 57% mean).

Description of the holotype ( Fig. 1 , measurements and ratios are presented in Table 2). A small sized Typhlops , with head non-distinct from neck and rounded in dorsal view, dorsoventrally not depressed, and as broad as long. Snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views. Rostral in dorsal view like a narrow oval, longer than broad, not reaching interocular level, with parallel to curved sides and rounded apex, with an anterior constriction at nostril level continued by a strong tapering toward anterior tip; broad rostral with a posterior constriction in ventral view, posterior constriction nears the mouth. Nasal divided (nasal suture complete) with shallow concavity in posterior margin; broad nostrils, visible in dorsal view and closer to preocular border than rostral border; superior nasal suture short and nostrils obliquely oriented (70º angle approximately) to the body longitudinal axis in lateral view; inferior nasal suture pronounced curved and contacting the midpoint of second supralabial; nasal–preocular suture contacting the anterior third of third supralabial; preocular–ocular suture coincident with third–fourth supralabial suture; weakly divergent postnasal pattern. Single subtriangular preocular, almost as broad as high, with a small notch in posterodorsal margin, anterior apex strongly rounded, strongly sinuous preocular–ocular suture, and contacting the third supralabial only. Polygonal ocular, higher than broad; black eye, fitting into preocular notch, and distant of the snout; two postoculars between parietal and fourth supralabial, superior postocular broader than inferior postocular; postoculars in cycloid shape, and in broader contact with ocular than superior supraocular. Frontal, postfrontal, and supraocular in similar size, obliquely oriented (75º angle approximately) to the head midline. Single parietal and occipital on each side; parietals wider than occipitals, parietals slightly wider than long, and both scales are oriented obliquely (80º angle approximately) to the head midline. Interparietal, interoccipital, and nuchal scales with similar size, wider than frontal, postfrontal, and supraocular. Posterior border of the scales are rounded in frontal, postfrontal, and supraocular; truncated in parietals and occipitals; slightly truncated in interparietal, interoccipital, supraocular, and postoculars. Four supralabials with SIP T-III-Ocular; second supralabial 1.5 times the size of first one, third supralabial 2.5 times the size of second (overlapping with postnasal, preocular, and lower edge of ocular), and fourth supralabial 1.5 times the size of third, with strongly rounded posterior margin. Four infralabials, first slightly smaller than the second, third 1.5 times the size of second, and fourth 1.5 times the size of third.

Moderate middorsal scale counts, 275; 20 scale rows anteriorly, reducing to 18 posteriorly at around midbody (53% TL or 152th middorsal scale level). Dorsocaudals and ventrocaudals, 11. Five scales border opening of vent. Tail with a small apical spine.

Dorsum and venter colorations are dark umber in alcohol. Venter color undifferentiated from dorsum. Bicolor coloration (light brown and dark umber) of the head in dorsal and lateral views, anterior tip of head is light brown in both views. Light brown color is present in the anterior portion of the rostral, postnasal, preocular scales in dorsal view, and rostral, nasals, second supralabial, anterior tip of preocular, inferior portion of third and fourth supralabial in lateral view. Head and neck coloration (from mental to 14th midventral scale) light brown and strongly differentiated from body (dark umber) in ventral view. Tail in ventral view and cloacal opening are white spotted. In life, ventral spots are whitish or yellowish, different from the rest of the body color pattern, especially tail and cloacal spots.

Character Holotype Type series (n = 17)

Immature specimens Mature specimens n = 7 n = 10

SVL (mm) 178 85 ± 3 (79–99) 180 ± 6 (137–205) TA (mm) 5 3 ± 0.2 (3–4) 7 ± 0.5 (5–9) TL (mm) 183 88 ± 3 (82–102) 187 ± 6 (145–211) TL/TA 37 27 ± 2 (22–34) 28 ± 2 (18–37) ABD (mm) 4.1 2.2 ± 0.1 (1.8–2.5) 4.0 ± 0.2 (3.1–4.6) MBD (mm) 5.6 2.4 ± 0.1 (2.0–3.0) 5.4 ± 0.2 (4.1–6.8) PBD (mm) 5.0 2.0 ± 0.1 (1.6–2.4) 4.5 ± 0.3 (3.3–5.8) TD (mm) 3.1 1.4 ± 0.1 (1.2–1.7) 3.2 ± 0.2 (2.2–4.2) TL/ABD 44.6 40.7 ± 1.9 (34.0–48.9) 47.1 ± 1.0 (43.0–54.2) TL/MBD 32.7 38.8 ± 2.4 (29.3–48.9) 34.6 ± 1.2 (29.6–43.7) TL/PBD 36.6 44.9 ± 2.8 (35.7–55.0) 42.4 ± 1.7 (36.1–49.7) TA/TD 1.6 2.5 ± 0.2 (1.8–3.3) 2.3 ± 0.3 (1.4–3.6) HWM/HL 1.05 1.03 ± 0.01 (0.90–1.12)

HWN/HL 0.44 0.47 ± 0.03 (0.30–0.76)

HWE/HWM 0.85 0.84 ± 0.01 (0.77–0.89)

HWN/HWM 0.42 0.46 ± 0.02 (0.29–0.71)

SED/HL 0.48 0.48 ± 0.01 (0.44–0.58)

IND /HWM 0.38 0.39 ± 0.02 (0.31–0.60)

RWD/RLD 0.56 0.53 ± 0.01 (0.45–0.60)

PPNW/APNW 0.73 0.68 ± 0.02 (0.57–0.80)

IOD (mm) 2.74 1.85 ± 0.06 (1.64–2.10) 2.64 ± 0.09 (2.08–3.09) RED (mm) 0.31 0.20 ± 0.04 (0.08–0.38) 0.32 ± 0.02 (0.24–0.40) ED (mm) 0.34 0.26 ± 0.01 (0.23–0.34) 0.30 ±0.01 (0.24–0.35) PSL (mm) 0.42 0.25 ± 0.01 (0.21–0.29) 0.44 ± 0.04 (0.27–0.77) RC/PW 0.59 0.56 ± 0.01 (0.47–0.66)

OS 0.87 0.78 ± 0.01 (0.69–0.91)

PS 0.81 0.77 ± 0.01 (0.68–0.87)

OLM/OW 0.68 0.60 ± 0.01 (0.52–0.70)

Middorsal scale counts 275 278 ± 3 (250–308)

Scale Reduction (given as % TL) 53 57 ± 2 (48–67)

Anterior middorsal scale counts 152 166 ± 4 (134–187)

Dorsocaudal counts 11 13 ± 0.3 (11–15)

Ventrocaudal counts 11 13 ± 0.3 (11–15)

Intraspecific variation. All specimens are very similar in most phenotypic aspects. Some specimens have rostral scale with a rounded to pointed apex in dorsal view (CZACC 4.5388, BSC.H 756) and rostral with parallel sides in dorsal view (CZACC 4.5390, BSC.H 1048, MNCN 45491); inferior nasal suture contacting the posterior third of second supralabial (CZACC 4.5396, BSC.H 884, 899); two occipitals (CZACC 4.5396, BSC.H 756–57, 884, MNCN 45491), or two occipitals on right (BSC.H 1048) or left (BSC.H 1068, 1308) side only. Some specimens have three (CZACC 4.5389–90, BSC.H 756, 899) or four (CZACC 4.5396, BSC.H 860, 1307, MNCN 45491) scales in the border opening of vent. The light brown spot in the head and neck in ventral view occurs from mental to 3–18th (7 ± 1, n = 17) midventral scale ( Fig. 2 C). Dorsum and venter color pattern of some paratypes is dark brown to umber (CZACC 4.5528, BSC.H 756, 860, 884, 1048, 1068, 1307–08, MNCN 45491, Figs. 2 A, 2B). Tail in ventral view and cloacal opening of all specimens are white spotted ( Figs. 2 A, 2B, 2D). Seven specimens (CZACC 4.5528, BSC.H 756–57, 860, 1307–08, MNCN 45491) have <105 mm TL and possibly are juveniles or subadults ( Table 2), since all are consistently smaller than other specimens of the type series (≥ 145 mm TL, n = 10, CZACC 4.5388–90, 4.5395–96, BSC.H 759, 884, 899, 1048, 1068). Such individuals were considered as immature or mature specimens in this paper, respectively. Meristic characters variation is presented on Table 2.

Etymology. In Greek lepto = narrow and lepis = scale, in allusion to distinctive rostral pattern in dorsal view. Distribution. Typhlops leptolepis is known from two upland areas separated by more than 50 km in airline distance, both located in the Sagua-Baracoa mountain range, Eastern Cuba ( Fig. 3 ).

Geography and natural history. This species inhabits two different geographic regions in Eastern Cuba: Altiplanicie del Toldo and Sierra del Cristal. Altiplanicie del Toldo is a tableland extending almost 100 km 2, lying between the Moa River in the west and the Jiguaní River in the east. Its mean altitude is between 600 and 900 m asl, and its highest point is 1109 m asl at El Toldo peak. The soil is extremely poor, formed under poor drainage conditions, on serpentines. This area receives approximately 3000 mm of rain per year; mean temperature is 20- 22°C ( Viña Bayés, 1998). In this region, most of the specimens were collected buried under stones, only BSC.H 759 (AFG 329) was dug up by a bulldozer, and BSC.H 899 (AFG 451) was found inside a degraded trunk on the ground. The latter animal was very active when captured and expelled a whitish and smelly anal secretion. Specimens were collected on different vegetation types found in this tableland, including submontane rainforest on poorly drained soils, pine grove, cloud charrascal, and secondary scrubland ( Reyes and Acosta, 2005). Yet, most individuals were captured on rainforests.

Additionally, Altiplanicie del Toldo is also known as “Meseta del río Piloto” and “Meseta cabezadas del río Piloto” (as appears in the tags of CZACC 4.5388 and CZACC 4.5528). These names refer to one of the rivers crossing the tableland. The first biologists who visited the area used these denominations, but geographers working later in the region clarified the name and the geographical classification of this mountain system.

Sierra del Cristal is located between the Mayarí River in the west and the Miguel River in the east, with a length of 34 km and a width of 26 km. Its maximum altitude is Pico del Cristal with 1231 m asl, which is also the highest point in the Sagua-Baracoa mountains. The soil is poor, with a scarce agricultural use, formed on serpentines. Annual rainfall is between 1400 and 2000 mm, and mean temperature ranges between 22 and 24°C ( Viña Bayés, 1998). Specimens collected on La Vigía have no additional information about habitat, altitude or more specific location (e.g., coordinates).

Remarks. Fong et al. (2005) first recorded Typhlops specimens from Altiplanicie del Toldo. The animals were deposited at the herpetological collection of BIOECO, and were identified as Typhlops lumbricalis ( Fong et al., 2005) . In the current study, those specimens were associated to the new species, and included on the type series.

Typhlops silus Legler, 1959 was described from Banes, Holguín Province, Cuba. This name was determined as a junior synonym for Typhlops lumbricalis by Richmond (1961). However, a recent study suggests that the name, T. silus could be valid ( Domínguez and Díaz (2011a). Although Typhlops leptolepis and T. silus occur in the northeastern region of Cuba, they are morphologic distinct. T. leptolepis can be distinguished from T. silus particularly by its rostral pattern, moderate to high middorsal scale counts, divergent postnasal pattern, distinctive color pattern (head, neck, and tail whitish spotted in ventral view). T. silus is being resurrected and redescribed elsewhere (Domínguez, M. and R. Díaz, in prep.).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal (top) and lateral (bottom) views of the head scutellation in Typhlops leptolepis (holotype). Scale bar = 2 mm.

FIGURE 2. Typhlops leptolepis (paratype BSC. H 759): body color in preservative (A); ventral views of the head, neck, and tail (B); details of the spotted ventral scutellation of head and neck (C); and vent and tail (D). Arrows indicate spots. Scale bar = 4 mm. Photos A. Fong G.

FIGURE 3. Localities for Typhlops leptolepis and other species of the Typhlops lumbricalis species group in the eastern region of Cuba (lines represent province borders): solid squares, Typhlops oxyrhinus; open squares, Typhlops cf. silus; semisolid squares, T. oxyrhinus and Typhlops cf. silus; solid triangles, Typhlops leptolepis (1 – La Vigía, 2 – Cabezadas del río Jaguaní, 3 – Altiplanicie del Toldo). Inset: Location of main map within Cuba.