Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi, Batista, Abel, Ponce, Marcos, Vesely, Milan, Mebert, Konrad, Hertz, Andreas, Köhler, Gunther, Carrizo, Arcadio & Lotzkat, Sebastian, 2015

Batista, Abel, Ponce, Marcos, Vesely, Milan, Mebert, Konrad, Hertz, Andreas, Köhler, Gunther, Carrizo, Arcadio & Lotzkat, Sebastian, 2015, Revision of the genus Lepidoblepharis (Reptilia: Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) in Central America, with the description of three new species, Zootaxa 3994 (2), pp. 187-221 : 201-204

Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi sp. nov.

Figs. 3–6 , 12

Lepidoblepharis sp.: Martínez & Rodriguez (1994: possibly); Martínez et al. (1995: possibly).

Lepidoblepharis xanthostigma : all in part. (referring to certain populations in Colón and Veraguas): Auth (1994); Young et al. (1999); Ibáñez et al. (2001); Köhler (2008); Carrizo (2010: referring to SMF 89963); Jaramillo et al. (2010); Lotzkat et al. (2010: referring to SMF 89963).

Holotype. Adult female SMF 50951, original field number AB 1241 ( Fig. 12 ) collected in leaf-litter 500 m east of the village Chicheme (8.865278°N, 80.643829°W, 100 m elev.), San José del General, Donoso district, Colón province, Panama, collected on 25 January 2013 at 11:40 hrs by Abel Batista, Lester Vásquez, and Leysi Díaz.

Paratypes. Four adult males, all from Panama: SMF 89963 from Cerro Negro, Veraguas, on 28 July 2008; SMF 50950 (collected on 20 July 2011), 50952, and MHCH 2954 from Petaquilla, Coclé del Norte, Donoso, Colón; see Appendix I for locality details.

Diagnosis. Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi (our sp. nov. 3) is characterized by the following combination of characters: (1) dorsal scales small, granular, and juxtaposed, ventral scales large, cycloid, flat, and imbricate; (2) scales on head small and granular; (3) 3–5 (4.4 ± 0.89) postrostrals; (4) two paramedian clefts demarcate the slightly convex median portion of the posterior mental border, rendering the latter vaguely M-shaped in its totality; (5) 5–7 (6.0 ± 0.71) postmentals; (6) lamellae under fourth toe 6–8 (6.6 ± 0.89), lamellae under fourth finger 4–5 (4.8 ± 0.45), the subdigital lamellae under each digit showing a peculiar morphology that is unique within the genus, with 1–3 proximal one(s) longitudinally greatly enlarged, each about 3–4 times longer than any of the remaining lamellae; (7) median subcaudals only slightly larger than the neighboring scales, about as long as wide, with rounded posterior margins, arranged in a regular tail sequence of 1'1'' ( Fig. 3 D); (8) ventral escutcheon consisting of 61–68 (63.3 ± 3.30) scales, 6–8 (6.8 ± 0.96) scales long and 12–15 (13.8 ± 1.26) wide; (9) lack of a discernible subfemoral escutcheon; (10) ventral scales at midbody 15–19 (17.4 ± 1.52); (11) dorsal scales at midbody 53–67 (59.8 ± 5.36); (12) bilobate hemipenis, with a third lobule rising from the pedicel; (13) SVL 25–27 (25.6 ± 0.89) mm.

Comparison with other species of the genus. Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi can be differentiated from many species in the genus by its small size and its low number of lamellae under the fourth toe and finger ( Figs. 3 D; 4). Moreover, the conspicuous morphology of its subdigital lamellae is unique within the genus and immediately distinguishes it from any described congener. In the following, we provide further comparisons to all other species within the genus, with the characteristics for L. victormartinezi in parentheses. Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi can be distinguished from the Panamanian species L. xanthostigma , L. sanctaemartae , L. rufigularis , and L. emberawoundule by a genetic p-distance of 10–21% in 16S mtDNA between individuals. Lepidoblepharis xanthostigma has greatly enlarged median subcaudal scales (slightly enlarged) and 12–16 lamellae under its fourth toe (6–8). Lepidoblepharis sanctaemartae has large, flat, imbricate dorsal body scales (small, granular, juxtaposed). Lepidoblepharis emberawoundule has 5–8 lamellae under its fourth finger (4–5), a ventral escutcheon consisting of 38–61 scales (57–68), and a well-discernible subfemoral escutcheon consisting of 4–5 scales in a single row under each thigh (no discernible subfemoral escutcheon). Lepidoblepharis rufigularis has 13 lamellae under its fourth toe (6–8) and 11 under its fourth finger (4–5). To date, seven species of the genus Lepidoblepharis have been reported to possess ten or fewer lamellae under the fourth toe, i.e., to be short-toed. Two of these, L. miyatai and L. sanctaemartae , possess large, flat, and imbricate dorsal scales (dorsal scales small, granular, and juxtaposed). Lepidoblepharis buchwaldi , L. microlepis , L. montecanoensis , L. peraccae , and L. williamsi can confidently be ruled out as conspecifics since the inspection of the illustrations and photographs available for the holotypes showed no subdigital lamellae to be as conspicuously enlarged as in L. victormartinezi . Moreover, in the holotype of L. peraccae the plantar and palmar scales have the posterior border ovoid and imbricated (plantar and palmar scales small rounded and juxtaposed), and in the holotype of L. microlepis all of the slightly enlarged median subcaudal scales are bordered laterodistally by one scale, forming a regular tail sequence of 1'1' (the slightly more enlarged median subcaudals bordered laterodistally by two scales, the slightly smaller ones by one, forming a regular tail sequence of 1'1''). The remaining species of the genus, i.e., L colombianus , L conolepis , L. duolepis , L. festae , L. grandis , L. heyerorum , L. hogmoedi , L. intermedius , and L. ruthveni are longtoed with eleven or more lamellae under the fourth toe (6–8 in L. victormartinezi ).

Description of holotype. Variation among the entire type series is given in parentheses (see Table 1 for details). Adult female as indicated by absence of hemipenes and escutcheon scales; SVL 25 mm (25–27 mm), TL 27.2 mm (27–31), HL 5.4 mm (4.9–6.1 mm), HW 3.7 mm (3.7–4.2 mm), forelimbs 5.7 mm (6.8–5.7), hind limbs 8.3 mm (9.8–7.4), shank 3.5 mm (3.5–4.3); rostral large, clearly visible from above, with a shallow, horseshoeshaped posterior depression and a long median cleft; postrostrals four (3–5) including supranasals, median ones smaller than supranasals, and indenting the rostral, at least one median postrostral slightly larger than posteriorly adjacent scales on snout; postnasals two (1–2), both about same size as posteriorly adjacent loreal scales; scales on snout small and smooth, 17 (16–22) scales across snout between anterior sutures of second SPLs; loreal scales subimbricate, elevated towards posterior and dorsal directions, 6 (5–9) loreal scales on a longitudinal line between postnasals and orbit; scales on top of head small, granular, and juxtaposed, generally pointing upward, about half as large as those on the central snout; superciliary flap with two enlarged scales on anterior border, of which the first is slightly longer than the second; followed by 2–5 small and globular scales; supralabials three (3–4), posteriormost one below center of eye; ear-opening small, oval, in oblique orientation; mental large, posterior margin vaguely M-shaped and slightly convex in the middle, with two short paramedian clefts; postmentals five (5–7), flat and slightly larger than the posteriorly adjacent chin scales, the two median ones slightly larger than the others (1–2 slightly larger than the others); scales on chin small, rounded, and juxtaposed; on posterior chin region granular to flat-granular, approximately vertical in position or slightly inclined, pointing posteriorly, becoming smaller posteriorly; scales near posterior infralabials flat, subimbricate, and larger than in median area of chin; infralabials four, first largest and almost reaching anterior level of orbit, fourth below center of eye; throat with a short transition between the anterior region with small granular scales and the posterior region with larger, granular, and posteriorly pointing scales; dorsal scales on neck and body small, granular, and juxtaposed, at midbody and posterior portion of trunk pointed-granular or, in frontal view, triangular, mostly directed posteriorly, some flatgranular on flanks and in lumbar region; 38 (36–42) middorsal scales in one HL, 78 (78–96) between levels of axilla and groin; ventrals flat, smooth, imbricate, with an ovoid posterior margin, increasing moderately in size from gular region to belly, posterior ventral scales longer than wide; 13 (10–15) midventral scales in one HL, 27 (24–27) between levels of axilla and groin, 33 (29–33) to border of cloaca; transition between ventrals and scales on flanks abrupt; scales around midbody 77 (71–84), of which 19 are ventrals (15–19); scales on precloacal plate similar to ventrals, except for those on border of cloaca, which are smaller; tail dorsally and laterally with flattened, smooth, and imbricate scales, less elongated than ventrals (with a transitional zone at base of tail); underside of tail with a median row of slightly enlarged scales, mostly with a repeated series of one median scale bordered laterodistally by one scale, followed by a slightly larger median scale in contact laterodistally with two scales, constituting a regular tail sequence of 1'1''; dorsal scales on forelimbs granular to flat-granular; scales on hind limbs flat, smooth, and imbricate on anteroventral femoral and shank surfaces, granular elsewhere; fingers, from longest to shortest, IV-III-II-V-I; toes IV-III-II-V-I, fourth and third toes about the same length; lamellae under fourth finger five (4–5), with 2 (2–3) proximal ones greatly enlarged, each about 3 (3–4) times as long as the remaining distal ones; lamellae under fourth toe six (6–8), with 2 (2–3) proximal ones greatly enlarged; claws enclosed by an ungual sheath composed of six scales, as typical for the genus.

Hemipenis morphology. The everted hemipenis of SMF 50950 ( Fig. 6 E–F) is a small, bilobate organ, divided for around one third of its length, with a naked base; sulcus spermaticus bordered by well-developed, smooth sulcal lips; lips opening into two broad concave areas, one on each lobe; ornamentation of papillate calyces present on each lobe; asulcate area of the truncus covered by papillate calyces and some barely visible spinulate calyces; a third lobule like rising from the pedicel, not connected to the sulcus spermaticus, and covered by spinulate calyces.

Coloration in preservative (alcohol 70%; variation among the paratypes in parentheses). Dorsal ground color Hair Brown (277); occipital marks Grayish Horn Color (268) (Drab-Gray (256) in males), posteriorly bordered with Sepia (279); dorsum of head Army Brown (46); infra- and supralabials with alternating Sepia (279) and white transverse bars; chin and throat with Sepia (286) reticulations on a dirty white background; venter strongly suffused with Vandyke Brown (281) (escutcheon of males unpigmented in the center, with Olive Brown (278) borders).

Coloration in life. Dorsal ground color Mahogany Red (34), with small scattered Lavender Blue (195) and Sepia (286) dots; neck region Glaucous (272); a Sepia (286) line from the tip of the snout to the anterior border of the eye; two postorbital Sepia (286) lines, one directed to the occipital region and the other towards the ear; infra- and supralabials with alternating Sepia (279) and dirty white transverse bars; two occipital M-shaped Smoke Gray (267) marks (Chamois (84) in males), posteriorly bordered with Sepia (279); chin and throat with Sepia (286) reticulations on a dirty white background; ventral ground color Lavender Blue (195), strongly suffused with Vandyke Brown (281); a pale dorsolateral line from above the hind limbs to mid tail, a Sepia (286) line from above groin to mid tail; toes and fingers Vandyke Brown (282).

Distribution and habitat. Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi is an endemic species of the Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests in west-central Panama ( Fund 2011), known from around 100 m elev. in the province of Colón and 700 m elev. in Veraguas province. Most probably, L. victormartinezi lives in the leaf-litter and feeds on small invertebrates like other Lepidoblepharis ( Vitt et al. 2005) . Most specimens have been found on top of small hills, giving the impression that this species prefers drier environments on the hills rather than the more wet flat areas around the same locality. However, the specimen SMF 89963 was found in a wet flat area.

Etymology. The specific epithet victormartinezi is a patronym for Victor Martínez Cortés, who has pioneered Panamanian herpetology among native researchers, and was the first Panamanian herpetologist ever to publish his results in scientific journals. Since the 1980s, he has conducted herpetological inventory work at biogeographically significant localities throughout western Panama. The now unfortunately lost (V. Martínez, personal communication) specimens of " Lepidoblepharis sp." mentioned in his species lists of the region around Santa Fé de Veraguas ( Martínez et al. 1995, Martínez & Rodriguez 1994), which includes Cerro Negro as the provenance of one of our paratypes, might have been the first specimens of this new species that were ever collected. We dedicate this species to our friend and colleague Victor Martínez in due recognition of his passionate dedication to, and great achievements for, Panamanian herpetology.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Morphological distinction among Lepidoblepharis from Lower Central America; images from left to right: dorsals, ventral views of foot, tail, and mental region; scale bars equal 1 mm. (A) L. emberawoundule; (B) L. rufigularis; (C) L. sanctaemartae; (D) L victormartinezi; (E) L. xanthostigma.

FIGURE 4. Feet and hands of Panamanian Lepidoblepharis. Lepidoblepharis emberawoundule: right foot of SMF 81954 and right hand of MHCH 2957; L. rufigularis (SMF 50659): right foot and right hand; L. sanctaemartae: left foot of SMF 97419 and right hand of MHCH 2948; L. victormartinezi: left foot and left hand of SMF 89963; L. xanthostigma: left foot of SMF 90190 and left hand of SMF 89576. Scale bars equal 1 mm, tip of fourth finger and toe marked with an asterisk.

FIGURE 5. Escutcheon scales in males of Panamanian Lepidoblepharis. (A) L. emberawoundule: ventral escutcheon with 46 scales, 7 scales long x 11 wide, and subfemoral escutcheon with 4 scales per side, of SMF 81951 (SVL = 25 mm); (B) L. rufigularis: ventral escutcheon with 62 scales, 7 scales long x 13 wide, and subfemoral escutcheon with 3 and 4 scales per side, of SMF 50659 (SVL = 25 mm); (C) L. sanctaemartae: ventral escutcheon of SMF 97419 (SVL = 22 mm) with 92 scales, 10 scales long x 12 wide; (D) L. victormartinezi: ventral escutcheon of SMF 89963 (SVL = 27 mm) comprising 57 intact scales (an original total of 61 is assumed considering the symmetrical scale arrangement of the non-damaged portions), 7 scales long x 14 wide; (E – F) L. xanthostigma: (E) ventral escutcheon with 75 scales, 12 scales long x 11 wide, and subfemoral escutcheon with 2 scales per side (no additional scales hidden under strings), of SMF 90189 (SVL = 35 mm), and (F) ventral escutcheon with 36 scales, 6 scales long x 8 wide, and no subfemoral escutcheon of AB 1250 (SVL = 24 mm). All scale bars equal 1 mm.

FIGURE 6. Hemipenis morphology of four Lepidoblepharis species from Panama. Sulcate-asulcate view, (A – B) L. emberawoundule SMF 50968; (C – D) L. sanctaemartae SMF 97419 (E – F) L. victormartinezi SMF 50950; (G – H) L. xanthostigma SMF 91558. All scale bars equal 1 mm.

FIGURE 12. Holotype of Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi (female SMF 50951) in life. (A, C) entire specimen; (B) lateral view of the head.