Tantilla lydia, Antúnez-Fonseca & Castro & España & Townsend & Wilson, 2020

Antúnez-Fonseca, Cristopher A., Castro, Jocelyn A., España, Farlem G., Townsend, Josiah H. & Wilson, Larry D., 2020, A new species of Tantilla of the taeniata group (Squamata: Colubridae) from Refugio de Vida Silvestre Barras de Cuero y Salado in Caribbean coastal Honduras, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 258) 14 (3), pp. 86-102 : 88-95

Tantilla lydia sp. nov.

Figs. 1–2 .

Suggested common name. Lydia’s Little Snake.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B37BD98E-336B-4436-A37B-707036196A6E

Holotype. An adult male, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras en Valle de Sula ( [UVS-V] 1189 ), from Comunidad Salado Barra in Refugio de Vida Silvestre Barras de Cuero y Salado (15.7633°N, 86.9948°W), elevation 7 m asl, Municipio de El Porvenir, Departamento de Atlántida, Honduras, collected 21 May 2018 by Cristopher Antúnez-Fonseca, Farlem España, Jocelyn Castro, Emmanuel Orellana, José Paz, and Lourdes Alvarado. Original field number CS 15.

Diagnosis. Tantilla lydia sp. nov. is a member of the Tantilla taeniata species group, but distinguished from all other congeners by possessing the following combination of characteristics: (1) pale middorsal stripe dark-edged, occupying middorsal scale row and adjacent third of paravertebral rows on anterior third of body, reducing to median half of vertebral row on remainder of body, beginning approximately on tenth middorsal scale past parietals, posterior to more or less circular pale spot just posterior to dark nape band located behind pale nuchal collar; (2) pale nuchal collar incomplete dorsally, divided by dark coloration on vertebral scales and connecting to dark posterior border of dark head cap and dark nape band; (3) lateral extension of dark head cap incomplete, not completely separating postocular pale spot from pale nuchal band; (4) subocular dark spot present, not extending to lip; (5) ventrolateral region of body a much darker shade of brown than dorsolateral region; (6) pale lateral stripe well defined, dark edged, located on adjacent halves of dorsal scales 3 and 4; (7) paraventral scale completely pale on anterior portion, gradually darkening dorsally, until becoming completely dark at the beginning of tail; (8) postnasal and preocular narrowly separated; (9) 169 ventrals, 75 subcaudals, and 244 ventrals + subcaudals in the single male holotype.

Tantilla lydia can be differentiated from the other members of the T. taeniata group ( Tables 1–2 ) by having (scutellation data for males only): 169 ventrals (vs. 152 in T. berguidoi , 139–152 in T. brevicauda , 172 in T. briggsi , 139–145 in T. cuniculator , 154–166 in T. flavilineata , 142–158 in T. gottei , 157 in T. hendersoni , 162–165 in T. impensa , 144–147 in T. jani , 144–159 in T. johnsoni , 151–158 in T. oaxacae , 148 in T. olympia , 153–163 in T. psittaca , 158–159 in T. reticulata , 164 in T. stenigrammi , 146–161 in T. striata , 141–152 in T. taeniata , 140–144 in T. tayrae , 157 in T. tritaeniata , and 136–146 in T. vulcani ); 75 subcaudals (vs. 65 in T. berguidoi , 22–26 in T. brevicauda , 68 in T. briggsi , 53–58 in T. cuniculator , 70 in T. excelsa , 51–56 in T. flavilineata , 62–67 in T. gottei , 70 in T. hendersoni , 68–72 in T. impensa , 44–47 in T. jani , 62 in T. johnsoni , 46–52 in T. oaxacae , 49 in T. olympia , 63–73 in T. psittaca , 60–67 in T. reticulata , 33–42 in T. striata , 60–70 in T. taeniata , 46–49 in T. tayrae , and 39–50 in T. vulcani ); pale nuchal band narrowly divided middorsally (vs. obscure but complete in T. berguidoi , complete dorsally in T. brevicauda , T. cuniculator , T. excelsa , T. flavilineata , T. gottei , T. johnsoni , T. stenigrammi , T. taeniata , T. tecta , T. trilineata , and T. triseriata , and reduced to two nuchal spots in T. striata ); by having nuchal band extending onto parietals (vs. nuchal band confined to scales posterior to parietals in T. hendersoni , T. slavensi , and T. tayrae ); pale middorsal stripe occupying middorsal scale row and adjacent portions of paravertebral rows on anterior third of body, narrowing to median portion of middorsal scale row on remainder of body (vs. confined to median portion of middorsal scale row length of body in T. berguidoi , restricted to spots on vertebral row in T. brevicauda , T. jani , T. olympia , and T. vulcani , absent in T. briggsi , T. cuniculator , and T. johnsoni , absent or barely indicated, consisting of series of disjunct paler spots on anterior portion of middorsal scales length of trunk or some portion of anterior end thereof in T. tayrae , present on middorsal scale row and some portion of paravertebral scale rows length of body in T. excelsa , T. flavilineata , T. gottei , T. oaxacae , T. psittaca , T. reticulata , T. striata , T. taeniata , and T. tritaeniata , confined to middorsal scale row length of body in T. hendersoni , T. impensa , T. tecta , and T. trilineata , confined to middorsal scale row, becoming increasingly obscured and fragmented posteriorly in T. slavensi , and confined to middorsal scale row anteriorly and extending onto adjacent edges of paravertebral scale rows posteriorly on body in T. stenigrammi , T. tecta , and T. triseriata ); pale lateral stripe well-defined, occupying adjacent portions of dorsal scale rows 3 and 4 (vs. occupying dorsal scale 4 and adjacent halves of rows 3 and 5 in T. berguidoi , T. excelsa , T. flavilineata , T. oaxacae , T. reticulata , and T. stenigrammi , poorly defined, occupying all of row 4, upper half of row 3, and sometimes lower portion of row 5 in T. brevicauda , interrupted on adjacent portion of scale rows 3 and 4 in T. briggsi , barely discernible on adjacent portions of scale rows 3 and 4 in T. cuniculator , absent or occupying portion of adjacent portions of scale rows 3 and 4, most clearly or barely evident on anterior portion of trunk in T. johnsoni and T. tayrae , welldefned, consisting of spots on scale row 4 in T. olympia ); paraventral scale pale anteriorly, gradually darkening until reaching tail (vs. uniformly tan, brown, or dark brown length of body in T. berguidoi , T. brevicauda , T. cuniculator , T. jani , T. johnsoni , T. oaxacae , T. reticulata , T. striata , T. tayrae , T. tecta , and T. vulcani , lower portion pale, distinctly set off from dark upper half length of body in T. briggsi , T. gottei , T. hendersoni , and T. impensa , lower two-thirds anteriorly and about lower one-third posteriorly white similar to color of ventrals in T. excelsa ; dark streak on posterior portion of otherwise pale colored scale in T. flavilineata , with pale center, edged with dark pigment in T. olympia , lower two-thirds pale, area with pale pigment slightly decreasing posteriorly on body in T. psittaca , lower half pale, distinctly set off from dark brown upper half in T. slavensi and T. taeniata , lower half to two-thirds of scale row 1 colored similarly to ventrals in T. stenigrammi , unpigmented on anterior half or more of body, upper half darkly pigmented thereafter in T. triseriata , lower tip pale, decreasing in amount of coverage posteriorly in T. tritaeniata ); and by venter immaculate white (vs. increasingly involved with ventral edge of ventrolateral dark stripe proceeding toward tail tip in T. berguidoi , sometimes lightly pigmented in T. brevicauda , immaculate cream anteriorly to pale pink posteriorly in T. briggsi , immaculate reddishorange in T. cuniculator , white with little or no dark spotting in T. excelsa , scattering of brown pigment in T. flavilineata , edged with dark brown spotting in T. jani , with slight extension of tan coloration of first scale row in T. oaxacae , darkly pigmented in T. olympia and T. reticulata , immaculate pink anteriorly grading to red on posterior two-thirds of body in T. psittaca , immaculate orange in T. slavensi , usually immaculate, but sometimes with a few small dark spots in T. taeniata , dark spot on extreme anterolateral portion of each ventral in T. tayrae , and edged with same color as that of paraventral row in T. tecta , and darkly edged with color similar to that of paraventral row, remainder of venter white in T. vulcani ).

Description of holotype ( Figs. 1–2 ). An adult male, with partially everted hemipenes, measuring 262 mm SVL and 82 mm TL ( TOL = 344 mm; 23.9% of TOL). The head is slightly broader than the attenuate body; HL 8.5 mm; HW 5.1 mm; ED 1.4 mm, about 16.5% of HL; snout length 4.8 mm, about 56.4% of HL; snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views; pupil circular; rostral in the shape of an inverted triangle (2.1 mm in length by 1.1 mm in width), 1.9 times wider than long; internasal (0.9 mm in length by 1.7 mm in width), 1.9 times wider than long, contacting anterior and posterior nasal, and relatively large nostril; short suture between pre- and postnasals, below nostril; prefrontal more or less quadrangular (1.7 mm in length by 1.9 mm in width), anterior portion wider than the posterior portion prefrontal, 1.5 times longer than intersuture length; parietal (4.0 mm in length by 2.1 mm in width), about 1.9 times longer than wide; prefrontal suture 1.2 mm in length; frontal (2.5 mm in length by 1.9 mm in width), pentagonal in shape, approximately 1.3 times longer than wide, approximately as long as the distance from its anterior edge to tip of snout; supraocular (1.9 mm in length by 0.9 mm in width) approximately 2.1 times longer than wide; central portion of parietal 1.9 times longer than wide; parietals in contact with five nuchal scales; border of orbit in contact with parietal, upper postocular, supraocular, and frontal; rostral in contact with anterior nasal, internodal, and supralabial 1; anterior nasal in contact with the rostral, nostril, and first supralabial; posterior nasal in contact with nostril, prefrontal, and supralabials 1 and 2; relatively large nasal fossa located between anterior nasal and posterior nasal; loreal absent; preocular single, of inverted pentagonal shape (0.7 x 0.9 mm), lower margin contacting supralabials 2 and 3; postoculars 2/2, upper scale of roughly pentagonal shape (0.8 x 0.6 mm); temporals 1+1, anterior temporal (1.9 x 0.9 mm) longer than wide, posterior temporal (2.0 x 1.0 mm) longer than wide; supralabials 7/7, supralabial 1 in contact with supralabial 2 and nasals, supralabial 2 in contact with supralabial 1 and 3, preocular, and prefrontal, 3 and 4 bordering the eye, 4 and 5 contacting the lower postocular, 5, 6, and 7 bounding the ventral border of the anterior temporal, 7 contacting the anterior and posterior temporal, and the scales of the pale collar; a pair of chin shields present, anterior ones 1.7 times longer than wide, in contact with infralabials 1, 2, 3 and 4, infralabial 6/6, first four in contact with chin shields; and four preventral scales present between the posterior chin shields and first ventral. Dorsal scales in 15-15-15 smooth rows throughout the body, without apical pits or supra-cloacal tubercles; dorsal scales 6 at the 10 th subcaudal; ventral 169; cloacal shield divided; subcaudals 75, paired; ventrals plus subcaudals 244. Hemipenes slightly everted, bilobed, well-differentiated, pedicel naked and smooth, apical region with large spines.

Coloration of holotype in life ( Figs. 1–2 ). Dark dorsolateral region of body Prout’s Brown (47); pale middorsal stripe Clay Color (18) present on the middorsal scales and one-fourth of the adjacent portion of the paravertebral scales on anterior portion of body up to ventral 38, thence narrowing to cover only the median two-thirds of middorsal scale on remainder of body, edged with Sepia (286); pale lateral stripe located on adjacent halves of dorsal scale rows 3 and 4 Chamois (84) in color, grading to Tawny Olive (17) on posterior portion of body, bordered on upper half of row 4 with Sepia (286), ventrolateral portion of body from ventral half of row 3 to dorsal portion of row 1 Sepia (286); ventral portion of scale row 1 Smoky White (261); dorsal surface of head from rostral to anterior two-thirds of parietals Buff (15), with Sepia (286) edging on some scale edges; posterior portion of head cap edged with Sepia (286) margin on lateral edges of parietals, upper postocular, upper edge of anterior temporal, upper half of posterior temporal, and anterior half of adjacent nuchal scale; this dark head cap margin confluent with Sepia (286) subocular spot on anterior edge of lower postocular, upper portions of supralabials 3 and 4, and posterodorsal corner of supralabial 2, not touching lip; iris Jet Black (300); lateral portion of head Pale Buff (1), except for Sepia (286) spot on adjacent portions of supralabials 6 and 7, representing isolated segment of lateral extension of head cap, completely separated from dorsal portion of head cap; pale preocular and postocular spots confluent below dark subocular spot; pale nuchal band Light Buff (2) grading to Pale Buff (1) laterally, extending onto posterior tips of parietals where color is Yellow Ocher (14), narrowly divided by middorsal connection between posterior edge of head cap and a Sepia (486) nape band three middorsal scales long, which abuts and edges posteriorly a Yellow Ocher (14) spot covering most of four dorsal scales and is separated from pale middorsal stripe, which begins about one scale posterior to that point; venter of head Pale Buff (1), with Sepia (286) spot on mental and similarly-colored spots on medial portion of each infralabial 4; venter of body and tail Pale Buff (1).

Coloration of holotype in preservative. After seven months of preservation, the holotype exhibited the following coloration: dark dorsolateral region of body Drab (19), located between two pale stripes; Smoky White (261) stripe with Sepia (286) edges covering the vertebral scales and one-fourth of the adjacent potion of the paravertebrals, to a point 38 ventral scales along the body, after which this stripe narrows to occupy only middorsal scale row for remainder of body; adjacent portions of dorsal scales 3 and 4 Pale Buff (1), edged by Sepia (286) above, area below lateral pale stripe Hair Brown (276); paraventral portion of dorsal scale row 1 immaculate Pale Buff (1), as are the ventral scales. Dorsal head cap is Hair Brown (276), rimmed on posterior portion by Sepia (286); pale nuchal color is Pale Buff (1), divided narrowly middorsally by a Sepia (286) line connecting posteriorly to the Sepia (286) nape band; side of head is Pale Buff (1), with a Sepia (286) subocular spot not touching lip and a Sepia (286) spot on posterior portion of supralabial six and anterior portion of supralabial seven; chin Pale Buff (1) colored with Sepia (286) spots on mental and fourth infralabials.

Etymology. We are privileged to name this new species of snake in honor of Dr. Lydia Allison Fucsko who resides in Melbourne, Australia, and is an amphibian conservationist and environmental activist. As an internationally published photographer, she has taken countless pictures of amphibians, including photo galleries of mostly southeastern Australian frogs. Dr. Fucsko has a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from La Trobe University (Bundoora, Victoria, Australia), and a Diploma in Education from The University of Melbourne (Parkville, Victoria, Australia). She has postgraduate diplomas in computer education and in vocational education and training from The University of Melbourne (Parkville). Additionally, Dr. Fucsko holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Monash University (Clayton, Victoria, Australia). She received her Ph.D. on environmental education, which promoted habitat conservation, species perpetuation, and global sustainable management, from Swinburne University of Technology (Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia), while being mentored by the late world-renowned Australian herpetologist and academic Dr. Michael James Tyler (Order of Australia recipient). Dr. Fucsko, an educational consultant, was responsible for major enhancements in the quality of the images provided herein and is also a research collaborator with the fifth author ( LDW). Dr. Fucsko’s academic interests include: clinical psychology, focusing on psychopathology; neuroscience and empathy; environmental education for sustainable development; sentient ecology; academic writing; and creative writing, including poetry and creative nonfiction books for children and young adults. We use Dr. Fucsko’s given name as a noun in apposition, with the spelling of the Latin transliteration from the Ancient Greek Λυδία (Ludia), meaning “beauty, beautiful, noble one.” Thus, the snake named here as Tantilla lydia sp. nov. can be envisioned as the “beautiful one.”

Distribution and habitat ( Figs. 3–4 ). Tantilla lydia sp. nov. is known only from a narrow strip of disturbed Coastal Scrub habitat in the Lowland Wet Forest ( LWF; Holdridge 1967). In the vicinity of the holotype collection location, the predominant plant families and species are: Myrtaceae ( Syzygium cumini, Indian Blackberry or Malabar Plum); Arecaceae ( Elaeis guianensis and Cocos nucifera , African Oil Palm and Coconut Palm, respectively); Melastomataceae ( Conostegia xalapensis, Canelito ); Fabaceae ( Abrus precatorius, Rosary Pea ); and Marantaceae ( Thalia geniculata , Fire-flag). The male holotype of this snake was found active on 21 May 2018 during a night with clear skies at 2230 h, between the rails of the old Standard Fruit Company railroad track, 566 m southwest in a straight line from the center of the Comunidad de Salado Barra, approximately 450 m from the Río Salado, 590 m from the community beach, and 5,900 m from the Comunidad de La Unión.An association of mangrove forest species predominates to the west of the type locality on the banks of the aforementioned river, and includes Rhizophora mangle (Red Mangrove) , Conocarpus erectus (Buttonwood) , Avicennia germinans (Black Mangrove) , and Laguncularia racemosa (White Mangrove) . Tantilla lydia sp. nov. shares its microhabitat with other amphibians and reptiles, such as Dendropsophus microcephalus , Scinax staufferi, Smilica baudinii, Basiliscus vittatus , Coniophanes imperialis , and Bothrops asper .

Figures

Fig. 1. Dorsolateral view of the holotype of Tantilla lydia sp. nov. (UVS-V 1189) in life. Photo by Cristopher Antúnez-Fonseca.

Fig. 2. Dorsal (A), lateral (B), and ventral (C) views of the head and nape of the holotype of Tantilla lydia sp. nov. (UVS-V 1189). Photos by Cristopher Antúnez-Fonseca.

Fig. 3. Distribution of the species of the Tantilla taeniata group in Honduras. The star indicates the type locality of Tantilla lydia sp. nov. The most northwestern location of Tantilla gottei was recently published by Orellana Murillo et al. (2020).

Fig. 4. Type locality and surrounding habitat for Tantilla lydia sp. nov. showing the train tracks where the holotype was collected,Comunidad deSalado Barra,La Unión,Departamento de Atlántida, Honduras. Photo by Cristopher Antúnez-Fonseca.