South American Journal of Herpetology, 2(2), 2007, 83-88 © 2007 Brazilian Society of Herpetology A NEW SPECIES OF ATRACTUS (SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE: DIPSADINAE) FROM THE ATLANTIC FOREST OF ALTO PARANÁ, PARAGUAY PIER CACCIALI1,4,RAMÓN VILLALBA2 AND ALBERTO A. YANOSKY3 1 Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, CP 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay and Associated Researcher, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural del Paraguay, Sucursal 1, Ciudad Universitaria, San Lorenzo, Paraguay. 2 Sede Administrativa Kanguery, Parque Nacional San Rafael, Municipio Alto Verá, Itapúa, Paraguay (
[email protected]) and Guyra Paraguay, Cnel. Rafael Franco 381, Asunción, Paraguay. 3 Guyra Paraguay, Cnel. Rafael Franco 381, Asunción, Paraguay (
[email protected]). 4 Corresponding author:
[email protected] ABSTRACT: We here describe a new species of Atractus from the Atlantic Forest of Alto Paraná Paraguay. The new species differs from other Atractus by the combination of the following characters: 17 dorsal scale rows without reduction, six supralabial and infralabial scales, only one post-ocular, a uniformly gray dorsum and a whitish belly with iridescent tonalities. The new species of Atractus is known only by the holotype which is a female specimen, and two paratypes. This is the third species of the genus recorded in Paraguay. Given the current status of the Atlantic Forest in Paraguay and in South America, the present species might be classified as highly threatened. KEYWORDS: Atractus kangueryensis new species, Paraguay, San Rafael National Park, Taxonomy, Dipsadinae. INTRODUCTION (1995a) raised A. r. paraguayensis to the specific level, mainly due to its differences in coloration and Atractus is a fossorial genus of snakes (Fernandes lepidosis with the nominal form, and invalidated the and Puorto, 1993) characterized by the presence of subspecies A.