Pholidobolus condor, Parra & Nunes & Torres-Carvajal, 2020

Parra, Vanessa, Nunes, Pedro M. Sales & Torres-Carvajal, Omar, 2020, Systematics of Pholidobolus lizards (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) from southern Ecuador, with descriptions of four new species, ZooKeys 954, pp. 109-156 : 109

Pholidobolus condor sp. nov. Figures 9 , 10 Proposed standard English name: Condor cuilanes Proposed standard Spanish name: Cuilanes del Cóndor

Holotype.

QCAZ 15844 (Figs 9 , 10 ), adult male, Ecuador, Provincia Morona Santiago, buffer zone of El Quimi Biological Reserve, plateau on the eastern side of El Quimi river valley, 3.51892S, 78.3690W, WGS84, 2209 m, 11 July 2017, collected by Diego Almeida, Darwin Núñez, Eloy Nusirquia, Alex Achig and Ricardo Gavilanes.

Paratypes (3).

Ecuador: Provincia Morona Santiago: QCAZ 16790 (hatchling), El Quimi Biological Reserve, base camp towards old heliport (high zone), 3.51894S, 78.36897W, WGS84, 2226 m, 17 April 2018; QCAZ 16788-89 (hatchlings), El Quimi Biological Reserve, near base camp, 3.5182S, 78.3913W, WGS84, 1994 m, 12 April 2018, collected by Diego Almeida, Darwin Núñez, Eloy Nusirquia, Alex Achig and María del Mar Moretta.

Diagnosis.

Pholidobolus condor is unique among its congeners, except P. samek sp. nov., in having green dorsolateral stripes on the head. However, adult males of P. condor differ from those of P. samek sp. nov. in having lighter dorsolateral head stripes, and reddish flanks and venter. In addition, P. ulisesi , P. dicrus , P. hillisi , and P. vertebralis differ from P. condor (character states of P. condor in parentheses) in having a conspicuous light vertebral stripe (light vertebral stripe absent). Pholidobolus affinis , P. prefrontalis , P. dicrus , P. hillisi , and P. vertebralis further differ from P. condor in having prefrontal scales (prefrontal scales absent). Additionally, P. condor sp. nov. has fewer dorsal scales (26-30) than P. affinis (45-55), P. montium (35-50), P. prefrontalis (37-46), P. macbrydei (31-43), and P. dolichoderes sp. nov. (35-40). Pholidobolus condor can be further distinguished from P. fascinatus sp. nov. by having widened medial scales on collar, and from P. dolichoderes sp. nov. by having fewer temporals (7-9 and 4-5, respectively), fewer ventrals (18-20 and 25-27), and fewer gulars (14-16 and 22-23).

Characterization.

(1) Two (rarely three) supraoculars, anteriormost larger than posterior one; (2) prefrontals absent; (3) femoral pores absent; (4) four opaque lower eyelid scales; (5) scales on dorsal surface of neck striated or smooth, progressively striated from forelimbs to tail; (6) two rows of lateral granules at midbody; (7) 27-31 dorsal scales between occipital and posterior margin of hindlimb; (8) lateral body fold present; (9) keeled ventrolateral scales on each side absent; (10) dorsum dark brown with a narrow, pale brown stripe; (11) labial stripe white; (12) flanks of body dark brown or gray; (13) hemipenial body cylindrical with distinctive capitular groove.

Description of holotype.

Adult male (QCAZ 15844) (Figs 9 , 10 ); SVL 42.7 mm; TL 74.8 mm; dorsal and lateral head scales juxtaposed, finely wrinkled; rostral hexagonal, 1.67 times as wide as high; frontonasal quadrangular, slightly bigger than frontal, laterally in contact with nasal, loreal and first superciliary; prefrontal scales absent; frontal pentagonal, longer than wide, wider anteriorly, in contact with first superciliary and supraocular; frontoparietals hexagonal, longer than wide, slightly wider in the middle, each in contact laterally with supraocular II; interparietal octagonal, with a short medial suture posteriorly, lateral borders nearly parallel to each other; parietals larger than interparietal, hexagonal and positioned anterolaterally to interparietal, each in contact laterally with supraocular II and dorsalmost postocular; postparietals three, medial scale smaller than lateral ones; eight supralabials, fourth one longest and below center of eye; six infralabials, fourth one below center of eye; temporals enlarged, irregularly hexagonal, smooth; two large and smooth supratemporals; nasal shield slightly divided above nostril, irregularly pentagonal, longer than high, in contact with rostral anteriorly, first and second supralabials ventrally, frontonasal dorsally, loreal posterodorsally and frenocular posteroventrally; nostril on ventral aspect of nasal, directed laterally; loreal quadrangular, slightly wider dorsally, not in contact with supralabials; frenocular higher than long, in contact with nasal; nasal separating loreal from supralabials; two supraoculars, anteriormost one the widest; four elongate superciliaries, anteriormost enlarged, in contact with loreal; palpebral disc divided into five pigmented scales; four suboculars, anteriormost three elongated and homogeneous in size, posteriormost widest; two postoculars, the dorsalmost wider than the other; ear opening vertically oval, without denticulate margins; tympanum recessed into a shallow auditory meatus; mental wider than long; postmental pentagonal, slightly wider than long, followed posteriorly by three pairs of genials, the anterior two pairs in contact medially and the third pair separated by postgenials; all genials in contact with infralabials; gulars imbricate, smooth, widened in two longitudinal rows; posterior row of gulars (collar) with nine scales, the medial three slightly widened.

Nuchal scales slightly smaller than dorsals, except for the anteriormost that are widened; scales on sides of neck small and granular; dorsal scales elongate, imbricate, arranged in transverse rows; scales on dorsal surface of neck striated, becoming progressively keeled from forelimbs to tail; dorsal scales between occipital and posterior margin of hindlimbs 27; dorsal scale rows in a transverse line at midbody 27; one longitudinal row of smooth, enlarged ventrolateral scales on each side; dorsals separated from ventrals by two rows of small scales at the level of 13th row of ventrals; lateral body fold between fore and hindlimbs present; ventrals smooth, wider than long, arranged in 20 transverse rows between collar fold and preanals; six ventral scales in a transverse row at midbody; subcaudals smooth; axillary region with granular scales; scales on dorsal surface of forelimb striated, imbricate; scales on ventral surface of forelimb granular; two thick, smooth thenar scales; supradigitals (left/right) 3/3 on finger I, 6/6 on II, 8/8 on III, 9/9 on IV, 6/6 on V; supradigitals 3/3 on toe I, 6/6 on II, 9/9 on III, 12/12 on IV, 7/7 on V; subdigital lamellae of finger I, II, III, and V single, on finger IV few scales in the middle paired; subdigital lamellae 6/6 on finger I, 11/11 on II, 15/15 on III, 17/16 on IV, 10/10 on V; subdigital lamellae on toes I and II single, on toes III, IV and V paired, except for two or three distalmost subdigitals; subdigital lamellae 7/6 on toe I, 12/12 on II, 15/16 on III, 22/22 on IV, 12/12 on V; groin region with small, juxtaposed scales; scales on dorsal surface of hindlimbs striated and imbricate; scales on ventral surface of hindlimbs smooth; scales on posterior surface of hindlimbs granular; femoral pores absent; preanal pores absent; cloacal plate paired, bordered by four scales anteriorly, of which the two medialmost are enlarged.

Additional measurements (mm) and proportions of the holotype: HL 11.0; HW 6.6; ShL 5.8; AGD 20.4; TL/SVL 1.7; HL/SVL 0.3; HW/SVL 0.2; ShL/SVL 0.1; AGD/SVL 0.5.

Color of holotype in life.

Dorsal background from head to base of tail dark brown, with a golden brown vertebral stripe extending from occiput to tail; greenish cream dorsolateral stripes on head, becoming light brown on posterior part of body; white longitudinal stripe extending from first supralabial to shoulder; sides of neck, flanks and limbs dark brown; chocolate brown narrow stripe extending from tympanum to arm insertion; ventrolateral region of body grayish brown; throat reddish cream; chest, belly, base of tail and lateral region of tail bright orange, with brown marks in some scales; ventral surface of hind limbs with orange diffuse marks (Fig. 9B,C ).

Color of holotype in preservative.

Dorsal background uniformly dark brown with a grayish brown middorsal stripe extending from occiput onto tail; dorsolateral stripe distinct, pale gray, extending from snout to near base of tail; head brown dorsally (rostral, frontonasal, frontal, frontoparietals and supraoculars) and dark brown laterally; white longitudinal stripe extending from first supralabial to forelimb; lateral aspect of neck dark brown with a dorsolateral light brown stripe extending posteriorly along flanks to hindlimbs; flanks grayish brown; tail dark brown dorsally and bronze laterally; ventral surface of head gray, with dirty cream genials and scattered black marks; chest, belly and ventral surface of tail light gray with light red spots; ventral surface of limbs dark gray (Fig. 9A ).

Variations.

Measurements and scale counts of Pholidobolus condor are presented in Table 6 . Supraoculars three on left side in specimen QCAZ 16789; supralabials six in QCAZ 16789 and 16790, and seven in QCAZ 16788; two quadrangular frontonasals in QCAZ 16788; transverse rows of ventral scales between collar fold and preanals 18 in QCAZ 16788 and 19 in QCAZ 16790. Hatchlings with eight (QCAZ 16788-89) or six (QCAZ 16790) posterior gular (collar) scales. Unlike the adult male, hatchlings lack reddish color on tail.

Distribution and natural history.

Pholidobolus condor occurs in Cordillera del Cóndor in southeastern Ecuador at elevations between 1994-2226 m. The new species is known from El Quimi Biological Reserve in Morona Santiago province (Fig. 7 ). The holotype was found active at 21h14 at the base of a bromeliad on a sandstone plateau of shrub vegetation (Fig. 11 ).

Several eggs were found within a bromeliad, suggesting that females of P. condor lay their eggs in communal nests. Four eggs that were found on the ground at the base of bromeliads and under a trunk were incubated in sphagnum and perlite in captivity for approximately three months. On average, hatchlings weighted 0.4 g and were 23.7 mm in SVL.

Conservation status.

Pholidobolus condor is only known from Cordillera del Cóndor in southeastern Ecuador. This area is currently threatened by mining activities ( Ron et al. 2018; Valencia et al. 2017; Van Teijlingen 2016). Habitat destruction and fragmentation is evident at a distance of ~11 km from the collection sites ( Mazabanda et al. 2018). Because of the small known distribution and habitat disturbance, we suggest assigning P. condor to the Critically Endangered category under criteria B1a, b(iii); C1; D, according to IUCN (2012) guidelines.

Etymology.

The specific epithet condor refers to Cordillera del Cóndor, where the new species was discovered. The Cordillera del Cóndor is an eastern outlier of the main Andean chain, where a significant number of species have been discovered in the last decade ( Brito et al. 2017; Huamantupa-Chuquimaco and Neill 2018; Ron et al. 2018; Torres-Carvajal et al. 2009; Valencia et al. 2017).

Remarks.

See remarks on Pholidobolus samek sp. nov. above.

Figures

Figure 7. Distribution of samples of the " Pholidobolus macbrydei " species complex included in phylogenetic analyses. Circles correspond to four new species described in this paper: P. samek sp. nov. (red), P. condor sp. nov. (blue), P. dolichoderes sp. nov. (brown), and P. fascinatus sp. nov. (green). Triangles are " Pholidobolus macbrydei " clades as illustrated in the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1): A (green) B (white) C (red) D (blue) E (black) F (turquoise). Orange diamond corresponds to type locality of P. macbrydei. This map was created in QGIS v 3.10.

Figure 9. Holotype of Pholidobolus condor sp. nov. (QCAZ 15844) in dorsal (A), ventral (B), and lateral (C) views. Male, SVL = 42.7 mm. Preserved specimen (A); live specimen (B, C). Photographs by Malki Bustos.

Figure 10. Head of holotype of Pholidobolus condor sp. nov. (QCAZ 15844) in lateral (A), dorsal (B), and ventral (C) views. Photographs by Valeria Chasiluisa. Scale bar: 5 mm.

Figure 11. Habitat of Pholidobolus condor sp. nov. at El Quimi Biological Reserve, Ecuador. Photographs by Alvaro Perez.