Mabuya hispaniolae, Hedges & Conn, 2012

Hedges, S. Blair & Conn, Caitlin E., 2012, A new skink fauna from Caribbean islands (Squamata, Mabuyidae, Mabuyinae) 3288, Zootaxa 3288 (1), pp. 1-244 : 108-111

Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov.

Hispaniolan Two-lined Skink

( Figs. 31B , 32F , 43 )

Mabuya mabouya sloanii — Cochran, 1941:305 (part).

Mabuya mabouya sloanei — Schwartz & Thomas, 1975:141 (part).

Mabuya mabouya sloanei — MacLean et al., 1977:24 (part).

Mabuya mabouya sloanei — Henderson & Schwartz, 1984:25 (part).

Mabuya mabouya sloanei — Schwartz & Henderson, 1988:151 (part).

Mabuya mabouya sloanei — Schwartz & Henderson, 1991:457 (part).

Mabuya bistriata — Powell et al., 1996:82 (part).

Mabuya sloanii — Mayer & Lazell, 2000:883 (part).

Mabuya sloanii —Miralles, 2005:49 (part).

Mabuya sloanii — Henderson & Powell, 2009:293 (part).

Holotype. UMMZ 83305 , an adult male, collected 7 May 1937 at the Palace Hotel in Ciudad Trujillo (= Santo Domingo), Dominican Republic, by Chester Roys.

Paratypes (n = 7). Dominican Republic. UMMZ 239592–98 (paratopotypes) , same collecting data as holotype ( UMMZ 239593–97 are fetuses from UMMZ 239592 ) .

Diagnosis. Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov. is characterized by (1) maximum SVL in males, 86.6 mm; (2) maximum SVL in females, 92.6 mm; (3) snout width, 3.08–3.47% SVL; (4) head length, 17.7–19.2% SVL; (5) head width, 11.6–14.0% SVL; (6) ear length, 1.11–1.46% SVL; (7) toe-IV length, 10.7–11.1% SVL; (8) prefrontals, two; (9) supraoculars, three; (10) supraciliaries, four (75%), five (25%); (11) frontoparietals, two; (12) supralabial below the eye, five (50%), six (50%); (13) nuchal rows, one; (14) dorsals, 54–62; (15) ventrals, 67–76; (16) dorsals + ventrals, 123–138; (17) midbody scale rows, 30–32; (18) finger-IV lamellae, 13–14; (19) toe-IV lamellae, 16–19; (20) finger-IV + toe-IV lamellae, 30–33; (21) supranasal contact, N; (22) prefrontal contact, N; (23) supraocular-1/frontal contact, Y; (24) parietal contact, Y; (25) pale middorsal stripe, N; (26) dark dorsolateral stripe, N; (27) dark lateral stripe, Y; (28) pale lateral stripe, Y; and (29) palms and soles, dark ( Tables 3–5).

Within the Genus Mabuya , M. hispaniolae sp. nov. is separated from M. cochonae sp. nov., M. desiradae sp. nov., M. grandisterrae sp. nov., M. guadeloupae sp. nov. and M. montserratae sp. nov. by having a longer frontonasal scale (frontonasal length 20.5–23.9% head length versus 16.5–19.9% in those other five species; Fig. 34 ). It is distinguished from M. dominicana , M. grandisterrae sp. nov., M. guadeloupae sp. nov., and M. mabouya by having a longer supraciliary-2 scale (supraciliary-2/supraciliary-3 length ratio 1.43–1.49 versus 1.67–2.40 in those other species; Fig. 36 ). Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov. additionally differs from M. dominicana by having a wider supranasal scale (supranasal length/width 3.41–4.15 versus 4.57–6.57 in M. dominicana ; Fig. 35). It also has a wider snout than M. dominicana (snout width 17.4–18.0% HL versus 13.6–17.5% in M. dominicana ; Fig. 40 ) and a less dorsoventrally compressed head (not measured). Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov. (visible in the holotype) differs from M. mabouya by having a pale lateral stripe bordered below by a narrow dark line (versus no border in M. mabouya ). From M. montserratae sp. nov. it is also distinguished by having a smaller ear (ear length 1.11– 1.46% SVL versus 1.49–1.55% in M. montserratae sp. nov.). Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov. also tends to have fewer midbody scale rows than M. montserratae sp. nov., 30 (six individuals) and 32 (two) versus 32 (four individuals) and 34 (four), and the fetuses of M. montserratae sp. nov. are spotted and lack dark dorsolateral stripes whereas the fetuses of M. hispaniolae sp. nov. have dark dorsolateral stripes, at least anteriorly.

Description of holotype ( Figs. 31B , 43A–C ). An adult male in good state of preservation, without injuries and with an abdominal slit. SVL 85.4 mm; tail length not measured (regenerated); HL 16.4 mm; HW 11.1 mm; SW

2.96 mm; EL 1.25 mm; and toe-IV length 9.45 mm; ear-opening average in size and round; toe length in the following order: I <II <V <III <IV.

Head scalation. Rostral wider than high, contacting first supralabials, nasals and supranasals. Paired supranasals not in median contact, contacting anteriormost loreal. Frontonasal diamond-shaped, wider than long, laterally in contact with anterior loreal scale. A pair of quadrilateral prefrontals, separated medially, and in contact with frontonasal, both anterior and posterior loreals, first supraciliary, first supraoculars, and frontal. Frontal heptagonal, in contact with the first supraoculars and paired frontoparietals. Frontoparietals also in contact with parietals and interparietal. Interparietal tetragonal and lanceolate, separated from nuchals by parietals; parietal eye distinct. Parietals in contact with upper secondary and tertiary temporal scales. Three supraoculars, the first one being the longest and largest. Four supraciliaries, the second the longest. Nostril in posterior part of the nasal. A small postnasal, bordered by supranasal, anterior loreal and first supralabial. Anterior loreal squarish and posterior loreal rectangular with posterodorsal projection on latter. Three upper preoculars and two lower preoculars. Seven supralabials, the fifth being the widest and forming the lower border of the eyelid. Three moderately enlarged scales behind eye comprising the postoculars; similar to temporal scales but smaller. One primary temporal, two secondary temporals, and three tertiary temporals; all imbricate, smooth, cycloid, not distinctly delimited from the scales on the nape and the sides of the neck. Seven infralabials. Mental scale wider than long, posterior margin straight.

Body and limb scalation. One row of paired nuchal scales. Other scales on nape similar to dorsals. On lateral sides of neck, scales slightly smaller. Dorsal scales cycloid, imbricate, smooth, 56 in a longitudinal row; ventrals similar to dorsals; 69 in a longitudinal row; 30 scales around midbody. No distinct boundaries between dorsals, laterals and ventrals. Scales on tail and limbs similar to dorsals, except smaller on limbs. One enlarged dorsal scale row and one enlarged ventral scale row on regenerated tail with rows similar to ventrals on each side. Palmar and

Pattern and coloration. Dorsal ground color medium gray-brown with small-to-medium dark brown spots, distributed on body (forming two dorsolateral dark bands), tail, and limbs. Dark dorsolateral stripes absent. Dark lateral stripes present, dark brown, extending from loreal region to last third of body, where they transition to dark spots, while keeping a narrow fringe of dark-edged scales above the pale venter. Pale middorsal stripe absent. Pale dorsolateral stripes present, pale gray, extending from behind eye to last third of body. Pale lateral stripes present, whitish, extending from below eye to last third of body, bordered below by a narrow dark line. Ventral surface of body without pattern. Palmar and plantar surfaces dark brown. No information is available for color in life of the holotype.

Variation. Aside from minor variation as shown in the tables, the other specimens agreed with the holotype ( Tables 3–5). The chin scale configuration was noted in one of the three adults ( UMMZ 239598 ): the postmental scale and two pairs of adjoining chin shields are in contact with anterior infralabials; the first pair of chin shields is in contact medially; the second and third pairs are separated by smaller cycloid scales. The five fetuses showed strong banding as is seen in the holotype male, but the mother and the other male both have a faded, reddish-brown appearance often seen in old, formalin-fixed specimens .

Distribution. The species is distributed on Hispaniola, where it is known only from the capital city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic ( Fig. 9B ).

Ecology and conservation. No ecological data are recorded for any of the specimens except that they were collected at the "Palace Hotel," which suggests an artificial, urban habitat such as a park or garden. Historical records (newspaper accounts) indicate that the Hotel "Palace" was located in the colonial part of the city, on street Emiliano Tejera, between streets Arzobispo Meriño and Isabel La Católica, and was demolished in 1944 (Blanca Delgado and Sixto Inchaustegui, personal communication). That location was only about two blocks from the Rio Ozama, the major river at Santo Domingo. No large tracts of forest are in that area today, but there are small patches of trees in the colonial area, including near the river, and there may have been more trees 74 years ago. Because populations and species of mabuyine skinks are rare or possibly extinct on essentially all islands where the mongoose has been introduced, and because this species has not been seen since 1937, it may be extinct. Mongooses are not usually encountered in urban settings in the West Indies, and therefore a city park or hotel garden (e.g., type-locality) may have provided a temporary safe haven for this species, being decimated elsewhere (temporary, because this species of skink apparently no longer occurs in the city). It is unclear why mongooses might avoid urban areas, but the presence of dogs—which can kill a mongoose —may be a factor (Byron Wilson, personal communication).

The FAO (2005) lists total forest area of Haiti as 4.0% and Dominican Republic as 28.4%, but these numbers are inflated because the FAO definition of total forest includes areas with up to 90% of the trees missing (10% canopy). Primary forest area values are not listed by FAO for these countries, but where they are listed elsewhere, they average 10–20% of total forest ( Hedges 2006a). Therefore the primary forest of Haiti is likely to be <1% of total land area, and that of the Dominican Republic, ~5% of land area. There are national parks and protected areas in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but deforestation takes place within park boundaries and therefore they do not afford complete protection, and often they offer no protection.

Based on IUCN Redlist criteria ( IUCN 2011), we consider the conservation status of Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov. to be Critically Endangered and possibly extinct (CR A2ace). It faces a primary threat from the introduced mongoose, which has probably led to its extinction. Secondary threats include habitat destruction from agriculture and charcoaling, and predation from other introduced predators, including black rats. Studies are needed to determine if the species still exists, the health of any remaining populations, and threats to the survival of the species. Captive breeding programs should be undertaken, if the species still exists, because eradication of introduced mammalian predators is not possible on large islands. All mongoose-free islets of Hispaniola need to be thoroughly surveyed for the possible presence of this species, or the other two species of skinks from Hispaniola.

Reproduction. One female, UMMZ 239592 (92.6 mm SVL), contained five developing young ( UMMZ 239593–97 ). The date of collection for that specimen was 7 May 1937 .

Etymology. The species name ( hispaniolae ) is a feminine genitive singular noun, referring to the distribution of the species on the island of Hispaniola.

Remarks. Ciudad Trujillo was the name given to the capital city of Santo Domingo by the dictator Rafael by Roys with MCZ R-3617 (herein named S. haitiae sp. nov.), also from Hispaniola, treating all as members of the widespread species Mabuya mabouya . She noted that they agreed "in almost every way," but her table of characters showed that MCZ R-3617 differed substantially in scalation (nuchals, midbody scale rows, ventrals) from the other three specimens. Cochran indicated three supraoculars in MCZ R-3617, but it has four on both sides; supraoculars are another character separating it ( S. haitiae sp. nov.) from M. hispaniolae sp. nov. She also considered the patterns to be "very similar," but MCZ R-3617 has relatively wide nape stripes as in members of the Genus Spondylurus , while the Roys specimens have a spotted dorsum with lateral stripes and only a hint of dorsolateral stripes, as in members of the Genus Mabuya . Subsequent authors ( Schwartz & Thomas 1975; Miralles 2005) appear to have followed Cochran in treating these specimens as members of a single, widespread, species of skink in the Greater Antilles.

The fact that this species is represented by three large lizards collected in the capital city of the country during the 20th century (1937), and at no other location or time, caused us to consider another possibility: that the locality was in error. The type series was collected by Chester Crosby Roys (1912–2002), an entomologist and later a professor of marine biology at Tufts University, Boston. The insect literature and UMMZ records indicate that he collected insects, amphibians, and reptiles in the West Indies ( Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, and Dominica) in 1937, while a PhD student at the University of Michigan. His collection on Dominica was of particular interest because a close relative of Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov., M. dominicana , occurs there. However, his field notes and records of other material at UMMZ (G. Schneider, personal communication) confirm that he was in Santo Domingo city on 7–8 May 1937 and stayed at the "Palace Hotel," where he indicated that these three Mabuya were collected. He also collected three species of Anolis ( A. chlorocyanus , A. cybotes , and A. distichus ) at that hotel, on those dates, that are native to the island and which are now in the UMMZ collection. He visited Dominica later in the trip, in June, 1937. Cochran (1941) discussed these specimens and their Hispaniolan locality only a few years after they were collected, indicating that any locality mix-up must have occurred soon after collection. This information, combined with the fact that these three specimens can be distinguished from the other seven species in the genus by several diagnostic characters, as noted above, led us to conclude that the collection data are probably correct. The general rarity of Mabuya in the West Indies, and especially on Hispaniola where the mongoose was introduced, may explain why M. hispaniolae sp. nov. has been seen only once.

Besides Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov., two other species of skinks occur on the island: Spondylurus haitiae sp. nov., not seen since the only known specimen (MCZ R-3617) was collected in 1857–58, and S. lineolatus , a rare species that has not been seen since 1985. Both of those other species apparently have been severely impacted by the mongoose. A lizard specimen in the Slater Museum (PSM 10269), labeled as Mabuya mabouya from Restauración, Dominican Republic, was examined by us and found to be Celestus costatus (Anguidae) . Also, BMNH 1982.1448 from Port-au-Prince Haiti, cataloged as Mabuya mabouya , is not a skink and probably a Celestus as well (Colin McCarthy, personal communication).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Map showing the distribution of mabuyine skinks occurring on islands in the central, southern, and western Caribbean region. See Fig. 1 for location of the islands. The islands and species are: (A) Jamaica (Spondylurus fulgidus; hollow circle = specimen not examined); (B) Hispaniola (Spondylurus haitiae sp. nov., circle; Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov., triangle; Spondylurus lineolatus, squares); (C) Turks and Caicos Islands (Spondylurus caicosae sp. nov., circles; Spondylurus turksae sp. nov., triangles; hollow triangle is Cotton Cay record (see text); (D) Margarita (Copeoglossum margaritae sp. nov.); and (E) Roatán (Marisora roatanae sp. nov.).

FIGURE 31. Head scalation in species of the Genus Mabuya, continued (left, side view; right, dorsal view). (A) M. guadeloupae sp. nov. (FMNH 213, holotype); (B) M. hispaniolae sp. nov. (UMMZ 83305, holotype); (C) M. mabouya (BMNH 53.2.4.39); and (D) M. montserratae sp. nov. (MCZ R-125464, holotype).

FIGURE 32. Representative patterns in species of the Genus Mabuya (top, dorsal view; bottom, side view). (A) M. cochonae sp. nov.; (B) M. desiradae sp. nov.; (C) M. dominicana; (D) M. grandisterrae sp. nov.; (E) M. guadeloupae sp. nov.; (F) M. hispaniolae sp. nov.; (G) M. mabouya; and (H) M. montserratae sp. nov.

FIGURE 34. Graph of frontonasal length versus head length in the eight species of the Genus Mabuya.

FIGURE 36. Graph of supraciliary-2 length versus supraciliary-3 length in the eight species of the Genus Mabuya.

FIGURE 40. Graph of snout width versus head length in two species of the Genus Mabuya.

FIGURE 43. Mabuya hispaniolae sp. nov., from Hispaniola. (A–C) UMMZ 83305, holotype, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (D) fetuses of UMMZ 239592.