Alinea, Hedges & Conn, 2012
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3288.1.1 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/39191A7F-0714-FFE2-2DA9-EF1A790AFBEC |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Alinea |
| status |
gen. nov. |
Genus Alinea gen. nov.
Caribbean Stripeless Skinks
Type species. Mabuya lanceolata Cope, 1862:187 .
Diagnosis. Species in this genus are characterized by (1) frontoparietals, two, (2) supraciliaries, 4–5, (3) supraoculars, four, (4) prefrontal contact, absent (rarely prefrontals in point contact in Alinea luciae ), (5) parietal contact, present, (6) rows of nuchals, 1–3, (7) dorsals + ventrals, 116–136, (8) total digital lamellae, 231–259, (9) a dark middorsal stripe, absent, (10) dark dorsolateral stripes, absent, (11) a dark lateral stripe, absent (weakly visible, anteriorly, in A. berengerae ), and (12) dark ventral stripes, present ( A. lanceolata and A. luciae ). Maximum body sizes in this genus range from 60–109 mm SVL ( Table 2).
Prefrontal Parietal Nuchal Dorsals + Total
Genus contact contact rows ventrals lamellae
Exila Y Y 2–3 unknown unknown
Mabuya N (Y) Y 1 (2) 116–138 211–253 (32)
Manciola N (Y) Y 1 136–141 147–154 (2)
Maracaiba N (Y) Y (N) 1 127 Unknown
Marisora N (Y) Y (N) 1 (2) 109–131 184–229 (16)
Notomabuya N (Y) Y (N) 1 111–130 217–228 (3)
Orosaura N Y (N) 1 unknown Unknown
Panopa Y Y 3–5 115–126 191–209 (3)
Psychosaura N Y 1–2 114 201 (1)
Spondylurus N (Y) Y (N) 2 (1, 3) 108–135 159–238 (40)
Varzea Y, N Y 1 116–126 208 (1)
Dark Dark Dark Maximum middorsal dorsolateral lateral Dark ventral Palm and sole adult SVL
Genus stripe stripe stripe stripes color (mm) Alinea N N N (Y) Y, N pale, dark 60–109 Aspronema Y Y Y N pale, dark 76–84 Brasiliscincus N Y (N) Y N pale 69–86 Capitellum N N Y N dark 68–78 Copeoglossum N N Y N pale, dark 91–121 Exila N N Y N dark 60 Mabuya N N (Y) Y N dark 93–106 Manciola Y Y Y N pale 98 Maracaiba Y, N Y, N Y N dark 77–101 Marisora N N (Y) Y N pale, dark 82–95 Notomabuya N N Y N pale 91 Orosaura N? Y N dark 97 Panopa N Y Y N pale, dark 69–76 Psychosaura N Y Y N dark 74–85 Spondylurus N Y Y N pale, dark 64–107 Varzea N Y (N) Y N pale, dark 97
Although each character is not present in all four species, the combination of multiple rows of nuchals, high total digital lamellae counts (> 230), elongate bodies, ventral stripes, and lack of dorsal stripes distinguishes Alinea from other genera. The high lamellae counts alone distinguish this genus from all genera except Copeoglossum , Mabuya , and Spondylurus (only one species of Spondylurus , S. fulgidus , has such high counts). Alinea differs from Copeoglossum in having contact (versus usually no contact) between parietals. In having four supraoculars, Alinea is separated from two genera with three supraoculars: Aspronema (rarely four) and Mabuya (rarely two or four). It differs from Spondylurus (and most other genera) in lacking dark dorsolateral and lateral stripes.
Distribution. The genus is distributed in the Lesser Antilles (on the islands of Barbados and St. Lucia) and on the western Caribbean islands of Isla de San Andrés and Isla de Providencia ( Figs. 1 View FIGURE 1 , 8A View FIGURE 8 , and 11G–H View FIGURE 11 ).
Etymology. The generic name Alinea is a feminine noun derived from the Latin and Greek prefix a- (away from, without) and the Latin noun linea (line), referring to the absence of lines on the dorsum of species in this genus.
Remarks. Miralles (2006a) considered Alinea berengerae to be closely related to A. pergravis based on an "extremely elongate and pointed" snout. In part, that is correct; the snouts are more acuminate than other species when viewed from above and laterally. Their snouts and heads are long (~18–19% SVL) but not exceptionally so in the subfamily.
Barbour (1921) saw Old World affinities in Alinea pergravis , but Dunn and Saxe (1950) noted similarities between A. pergravis ( A. berengerae had not yet been described) and species in the southern Lesser Antilles. They used this to argue against an origin for A. pergravis from the geographically closer landmass of Central America. Besides the absence of distinct body stripes in A. pergravis and skinks from Barbados, they also mentioned high ventral scale counts. However, the ventral scale counts of Alinea (except for A. pergravis ) are not especially high compared with other genera. Further building a Lesser Antillean connection with A. pergravis , they noted that water currents will carry a ship from the southern Lesser Antilles to Providencia and gave historical accounts as evidence. Miralles et al. (2009), on the other hand, did not agree with a Lesser Antillean connection and instead associated A. berengerae and A. pergravis with a complex of species in middle and northern South America. We concur with the explanation of Dunn and Saxe (1950) for the origin of A. pergravis (and A. berengerae ) based on the diagnostic characters that join them with A. lanceolata and A. luciae and the direction of current flow in the Caribbean ( Hedges 1996b).
Climbing behavior has been noted in one species ( Alinea pergravis ; Dunn & Saxe 1950), and it is likely a characteristic of its close relative A. berengerae . Given the elongate bodies of all four species and their high digital lamellae counts (a functional correlate of climbing), the behavior may even be characteristic of the Genus Alinea . Three of the species (all except A. pergravis ) are known from only one or a few individuals. No specimens of any of the four species have been taken in recent years, and they are here considered to be Critically Endangered.
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