Caecilia pulchraserrana
- Dataset
- A new species of Caecilia (Gymnophiona, Caeciliidae) from the Magdalena valley region of Colombia
- Rank
- SPECIES
- Published in
- Acosta-Galvis, Andres R., Torres, Mauricio, Pulido-Santacruz, Paola (2019): A new species of Caecilia (Gymnophiona, Caeciliidae) from the Magdalena valley region of Colombia. ZooKeys 884: 135-157, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.884.35776, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.884.35776
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Amphibia
- order
- Gymnophiona
- family
- Caeciliidae
- genus
- Caecilia
- species
- Caecilia pulchraserrana
description
Description of holotype. An adult female (Fig. 3). Head dorsoventrally flattened and slightly narrower than body; head width at CM 63 % of width at midbody, head width at CM 72 % of head length; head length 3.5 % of total length; interorbital distance 40 % of head width. Snout projects 1.6 mm beyond mouth; tip of snout rounded in dorsal and lateral view (Fig. 3); area between the eye and naris flattened. Eyes visible but small, eye diameter 4 % of head length and 13.5 % of eye-nostril distance; nares small, margins slightly protuberant, directed posterodorsally, visible from above. Tentacular openings circular and small, slightly raised above skin, laterally positioned near margin of mouth (Type D sensu Lynch 1999, Fig. 3 D, E), slightly closer to corner of mouth than to nostrils. Tongue anteriorly attached, surface smooth with some longitudinally oriented grooves. Teeth pointed, recurved, with size decreasing posteriorly; premaxillary-maxillary and dentary teeth monocuspid and visible externally. Premaxillary-maxillary teeth 13, posterior maxillary teeth smaller. Premaxillary-maxillary series extending behind level of choanae. Vomeropalatine teeth 10, monocuspid, relatively uniform, moderately recurved, not visible externally, similar in size. Dentary teeth 12, moderately recurved, faintly larger than premaxillary-maxillary teeth. Choanae subovoid; narial plugs visible (Fig. 3 F). Nuchal grooves indistinct dorsally and ventrally, incompletely encircling body with transverse grooves on the collars, in ventral surfaces. First collar shorter than second. Body subcylindrical, slightly deeper than wide (Fig. 3 A, B); body width at midbody 4 % of total length. Width along body varies slightly, narrower at terminal region. Primary annuli 104 incomplete dorsally and ventrally. Primary annular grooves completely encircling the body. Secondary grooves absent (Fig. 3 G-I). Dermal scale pockets absent. Vent circular; disc around vent conspicuous enlarged (Fig. 3 I) with seven denticulations anterior, seven nearly equal posterior denticulatios (Fig. 3 I); anal papillae absent, and unsegmented terminal shield of 4.9 mm length.
diagnosis
Diagnosis. Caecilia pulchraserrana sp. nov. differs from its congeners by the combination of having 100 - 104 dorsally incomplete primary annular grooves, a small size (195 - 232 mm), lips and ventral margin of upper jaw with a pink-orange (salmon) color (Fig. 4), and lacking secondary annular grooves and dermal scale pockets.
distribution
Distribution and natural history. Caecilia pulchraserrana sp. nov. is currently known from two adjacent, relictual tropical wet forest localities on the western slope of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia (Serrania de los Yariquies; Fig. 1) at elevations between 731 - 789 m a. s. l. The Serrania of the Yariguies corresponds to an isolated mountain range that is part of the western slope of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia (Fig. 1). Caecilia pulchraserrana sp. nov. is a fossorial species associated with marshy areas surrounded by secondary vegetation at the forest edge (Fig. 6). The specimens were collected during the dry season in very wet soils lacking rocks (i. e., bogs; Fig. 6), in a slightly inclined area (nearly 5 ° of slope) covered with vegetation of the family Heliconiaceae (Heliconia spp., Fig. 6). Caecilia pulchraserrana sp. nov. was obtained during the initial 10 minutes of removal with a hoe. We extracted the first specimen in intermediate substrates between marshy and dry areas; after 40 minutes of excavation in these selected areas, we obtained four additional specimens. Using these same criteria, when moving two kilometers above the original point, an area with similar characteristics was located and within 20 minutes we collected two additional specimens. Caecilia pulchraserrana sp. nov. was collected on black sandy soils with high organic matter content. These caecilians move quickly under the substrate, so once the first specimen is detected it is important to quickly create channels to surround and block them from escaping.
etymology
Etymology. The specific epithet is formed from the Latin pulchra (nominative feminine singular of pulcher), meaning beauty, and the Spanish adjective serrana (feminine singular of serrano), from the sierra or serrania. This specific name refers to the type locality of the species: vereda La Belleza (beauty in English) in the western foothills of the Serrania de Los Yariguies. The specific name was chosen using a citizen science approach. First, scientists and inhabitants of the El Carmen de Chucuri municipality gathered a list of possible names for the new species. Then, the list of potential names and their meanings was shared with the local people, who voted to choose their preferred name.
Name
- Homonyms
- Caecilia pulchraserrana