Tantilla psittaca

description

Description of holotype. An adult male; TL 354 mm; SVL 268 mm; TAL 86 mm (24.3 % of TL); HL 6.7 mm from front face of rostral to posterior end of mandible; HW 4.2 mm at broadest point (level of angle of mouth); head barely distinct from neck; snout broadly rounded in dorsal view; eye length 1.1 mm; snout length 2.8 mm, about 2.5 times as long as eye; pupil circular; rostral about 1.5 times wider than high (1.1 mm x 0.6 mm); internasal length about one-half of width (0.6 mm x 1.3 mm); prefrontal much larger than internasal, slightly wider than long (1.3 mm x 1.1 mm); median prefrontal suture 0.9 mm, about one-third times as long as frontal; frontal with slight anterior extension, V-shaped posteriorly, about 1.4 times longer than wide (2.8 mm x 2.0 mm), nearly twice as long as distance from its anterior edge to tip of snout (1.5 mm); parietal about 1.9 times longer than wide (3.8 mm x 2.0 mm), median suture 1.7 mm, about 61 % length of frontal; parietals contacting seven nuchal scales; supraocular longer than wide (1.4 mm x 0.8 mm), bordering orbit, contacting parietal, upper postocular, preocular, prefrontal, and internasal. Nasal divided, anterior nasal contacting rostral, internas

A new species of Tantilla of the taeniata species group (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae, Colubrinae) from northeastern Honduras

diagnosis

Diagnosis. Tantilla psittaca can be distinguished from T. taeniata (herein restricted to the Guatemalan populations discussed by Campbell 1998; see Discussion below) by having 153 – 163 ventrals in males (143 – 152 ventrals in male T. taeniata; Campbell did not study any females). Six other named species of Tantilla assigned to the T. taeniata species group have been reported from Guatemala and southern Belize (T. cuniculator, T. hendersoni, T. impensa, T. jani, T. tecta, and T. vulcani). Tantilla psittaca differs from all of those species in having the middorsal pale stripe complete and involving all of the vertebral scale row and the adjacent one-third to one-half of the paravertebral scale rows (versus middorsal stripe absent or faintly indicated only on anterior body in T. cuniculator, middorsal stripe confined to vertebral scale row and narrowly interrupted in T. hendersoni, middorsal stripe confined to vertebral scale row in T. impensa, middorsal stripe absent or reduced to series of small spots on vertebral row in T. jani, middorsal stripe confined to median third of vertebral scale row in T. tecta, and middorsal stripe reduced to series of spots on vertebral row in T. vulca

A new species of Tantilla of the taeniata species group (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae, Colubrinae) from northeastern Honduras

distribution

Distribution and habitat. The holotype of Tantilla psittaca (USNM 578389) was found by raking through leaf litter at the base of a tree buttress in primary broadleaf rainforest during July. Upon discovery, the snake moved rapidly into adjacent leaf litter in an attempt to escape. Three others (USNM 559707, 570459, 578390) were crawling on the ground during the day in open pine savanna during August, October, and November. The Tánsin specimen (LSUMZ 21770) was beneath a pine tree stump in pine savanna during July. The two SMF specimens were taken in broadleaf rainforest during July. Both the broadleaf rainforest and pine savanna areas are technically in the Lowland Moist Forest formation of Holdridge (1967), but differ dramatically from each other (see McCranie 2011 for a discussion of the Lowland Moist Forest formation in Honduras). Tantilla psittaca is known from 5 m to 420 m elevation. The pine savannas where Tantilla psittaca has been found are burned annually during the driest parts of the year. Thus, cover objects such as logs and tree stumps are difficult to find in many areas, and are usually fire scarred and dry when encountered. On the other hand, extensive broadleaf rainf

A new species of Tantilla of the taeniata species group (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae, Colubrinae) from northeastern Honduras

etymology

Etymology. The name psittaca is from the Latin psittacus and means parrot. The name alludes to the type locality Rawa (also sometimes spelled Rauha) Kiamp, which translates from the native language Miskito to Parrot Camp in English.

A new species of Tantilla of the taeniata species group (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae, Colubrinae) from northeastern Honduras