Herpetology Notes, volume 11: 77-80 (2018) (published online on 27 January 2018)

Two new records of albifrons (Sauvage, 1884) from Northeastern Brazil (: Dipsadidae)

Iuri Ribeiro Dias1,*, Carlos Augusto Souza Costa1, Mirco Solé1,2 and Antônio Jorge Suzart Argôlo1

Six of Dipsas have been reported so far for 1926 and D. variegata (Harvey, 2008). Only D. albifrons Bahia State, Brazil (Argôlo, 2004; Hamdan and Lira-da- and D. variegata occur sympatrically in eastern Brazil Silva, 2012), including D. albifrons (Sauvage, 1884), (Cadle and Myers, 2003; Passos et al., 2005; Harvey D. catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796), D. indica Laurenti, 1768, and Embert, 2008). D. petersi Hoge and Romano-Hoge, 1975, D. sazimai Dipsas albifrons can be distinguished from D. Fernandes et al., 2010, and D. variegata (Duméril et variegata by (1) having a dorsal surface of the head al., 1854). Dipsas albifrons is a medium-sized that is light brown with a pair of parallel dark brown endemic to the Atlantic Forest domain, distributed spots on the parietals that are not connected anteriorly in the south and southeastern regions of Brazil, from (dorsal surface of head gray to brown with cephalic Santa Catarina State to Espírito Santo State (Bérnils colour patterns that vary from indistinct to blotched in et al., 2001; Passos et al., 2005; Cichi et al., 2007; D. variegata; see Cadle and Myers, 2003: Fig. 2); (2) Centeno et al., 2008; Kunz and Ghizoni-Junior, 2009; having a single hemipenis (bilobed in D. variegata); Ferreira and Silva-Soares, 2012), with one record in the extreme south of Bahia State, close to the border with Espírito Santo State, northeastern Brazil, in Mucuri Municipality (Argôlo, 2004). Two alleged records of D. albifrons for Itagibá (Porto, 1993) and Ilhéus (Argôlo, 2004) Municipalities, both in southern Bahia State, correspond, in fact, to D. variegata and D. indica, respectively (Argôlo, 2009). Peters (1960) diagnosed seven species groups of Dipsas, placing D. albifrons in the D. variegata group. This group includes species with 15 dorsal scales and a dorsal ground colour that is generally light brown, with dark, narrow (usually higher than long), irregular, lateral blotches that are not as wide as the interspaces over the greater part of the body. Currently, this group is formed by five species: D. albifrons, D. andiana (Boulenger, 1896), D. nicholsi (Dunn, 1933), D. trinitatis Parker

1 Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Programa de Pós- Graduação em Zoologia, Rodovia Ilhéus-Itabuna, km 16, Ilhéus, BA 45662-000, Brazil 2 Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Herpetology Section, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany Figure 1. Geographic distribution of Dipsas albifrons in Brazil * Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] showing two new records in Bahia State (red symbols). 78 Iuri Ribeiro Dias et al. and (3) lacking pterygoid teeth (present in D. variegata) (Passos et al., 2005). Specimens that document our observations have been deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (specimen numbers MZUESC 14036 and 14150). The permit to collect the was issued by Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (licence number 69000-1 13708). The identification was verified using the diagnostic characters provided by Passos et al., (2005). We report two new records of Dipsas albifrons for Bahia State (Fig. 1; Appendix). The first, an adult individual (Fig. 2A), was found on herbaceous vegetation 50 cm above the ground, on 28 November 2014 at 2200 h, during fieldwork at the Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) Mata do Passarinho, Macarani Municipality (ca. 15.7952°S, 40.5210°W). The RPPN Mata do Passarinho, with approximately 650 hectares, is located in the Jequitinhonha River valley between Bandeira and Jordânia Municipalities in Minas Gerais State and Macarani Municipality in Bahia State (Biodiversitas, 2014). The reserve is part of one of the largest ombrophilous forest fragments in the region and also includes some patches of semi-deciduous seasonal forest. Despite being considered a priority area for conservation (MMA, 2007) this area still remains practically unexplored. Figure 2. (A) Adult individual of Dipsas albifrons (MZUESC Our second record is from Guaratinga Municipality 14036) from Macarani Municipality, Bahia State, Brazil. (ca. 16.4494°S, 39.9863°W). An adult individual (Fig. Photo by Iuri R. Dias. (B) Adult individual of D. albifrons 2B) was found on 27 January 2015 at 1900 h in an area (MZUESC 14150) from Guaratinga Municipality, Bahia State, near Parque Nacional do Alto do Cariri. This federal Brazil. Photo by Marcelo Sena. conservation unit was created in 2010 and is formed by approximately 19,000 hectares of well-preserved forest fragments, located mainly on hillsides and hilltops. These new records for Dipsas albifrons extend the a better understanding of the geographical distribution known distribution 270 km northwest from the hitherto of , as well as the importance of public and known closest locality, Mucuri Municipality, Bahia State private efforts in protecting the forest remnants in this (Argôlo, 2004). Both individuals were found at sites region, and thus protecting herpetofauna that may still with elevations of 700 m. We assume that this species be unknown. could also occur in Minas Gerais State, considering that the forest fragments in which we found the snakes Acknowledgments. We are grateful to the Fundação Biodiversitas are continuous and shared between the two states. and its manager Alexandre Enout of RPPN Mata do Passarinho Compared to other species of the occurring in the for allowing us access to research areas under their care and for Atlantic Forest domain, D. albifrons is well represented logistical assistance. Fieldwork was conducted during the project in herpetological collections (Hartmann et al., 2002; “Diversidade e estrutura genética dos anfíbios do Corredor Central Fernandes et al., 2010), but only one specimen was da Mata Atlântica do Sul da Bahia - 0991_20132” supported by the Fundação O Boticário de Proteção à Natureza. Scholarships known to date from northeastern Brazil (Argôlo, 2004). were provided by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento The paucity of reports from Bahia State may reflect a Científico e Tecnológico to IRD, and by the Fundação de Amparo lack of sampling effort in this region as opposed to rarity à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia to CASC. We thank Renato S. or absence of the species. Therefore, we emphasize the Bérnils, Martin Jansen, and Hinrich Kaiser for comments on the importance of surveys in southern Bahia in order to gain manuscript. Two new records of Dipsas albifrons from Northeastern Brazil 79

References Harvey, M.B. (2008): New and poorly known Dipsas (Serpentes: ) from northern . Herpetologica 64: Argôlo, A.J.S. (2004): As Serpentes dos Cacauais do Sudeste da 422–451. Bahia. Ilhéus, Brazil, Editus. Harvey, M.B., Embert, D. (2008): Review of Bolivian Dipsas Argôlo, A.J.S. (2009): Composição faunística e distribuição (Serpentes: Colubridae), with comments on other South geográfica de serpentes na Mata Atlântica do sul da Bahia, American species. Herpetological Monographs 22: 54–105. Brasil. Unpublished PhD thesis, Museu Nacional, Universidade Kunz, T.S., Ghizoni-Junior, I.R. (2009): Serpentes encontradas Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. mortas em rodovias do estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Bérnils, R.S., Batista, M.A., Bertelli, P.W. (2001): Cobras e lagartos Biotemas 22: 91–103. do Vale: levantamento das espécies de Squamata (Reptilia, MMA (2007): Áreas Prioritárias para Conservação, uso Sustentável Lepidosauria) da Bacia do Rio Itajai, Santa Catarina, Brasil. e Repartição de Benefícios da Biodiversidade Brasileira. Revista de Estudos Ambientais 3: 69–79. Brasília, Brazil. Plano Nacional de Áreas Protegidas. Ministério Biodiversitas (2014): Informativo: Mata do Passarinho. Ano do Meio Ambiente, Secretaria de Biodiversidade e Florestas. 1. Número 1. Available at: http://www.biodiversitas.org.br/ Passos, P., Fernandes, R., Porto, M. (2005): Geographical variation projetoasas/informativo.pdf. Accessed on 2 May 2016. and of the snail-eating snake Dipsas albifrons Cadle, J.E., Myers, C.W. (2003): Systematics of snakes referred to (Sauvage, 1884), with comments on the systematic status of in Panama and western South America, with Dipsas albifrons cavalheiroi Hoge, 1950 (Serpentes: Colubridae: revalidation of two species and notes on defensive behaviors ). Zootaxa 1013: 19–34. in Dipsadini (Colubridae). American Museum Novitates 3409: Peters, J.A. (1960): The snakes of subfamily Dipsadinae. 1–47. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Centeno, F.C., Sawaya, R.J., Marques, O.A.V. (2008): Snake Michigan 114: 1–224. assemblage of Ilha de São Sebastião, southeastern Brazil: Porto, M. (1993): Revisão taxonômica de Dipsas Laurenti, 1768 comparison to mainland. Biota Neotropica 8: 63–68. (Serpentes, Colubridae) de ocorrência na Mata Atlântica. Cicchi, P.J.P., Sena, M.A., Peccinini-Seale, D.M., Duarte, M.R. Unpublished MSc thesis, Museu Nacional, Universidade (2007): Snakes from coastal islands of State of São Paulo, Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Southeastern Brazil. Biota Neotropica 7: 227–240. Sazima, I., Muscat, E. (2016): Shelled baby food: newly hatched Fernandes, D., Marques, O.A.V., Argôlo, A.J.S. (2010): A new goo-eating snakes of the genus Dipsas (Squamata: Dipsadidae) species of Dipsas Laurenti from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil prey on snails in nature. Herpetologia Brasileira 5: 63. (Serpentes: Dipsadidae). Zootaxa 2691: 57–66. Silva-Soares, T., Ferreira, R.B., Salles, R.O.L., Rocha, C.F.D. Ferreira, R.B., Silva–Soares, T. (2012): Road mortality of snakes (2011): Continental, insular and coastal marine reptiles from at the Parque Estadual da Fonte Grande, an urban forest of the municipality of Vitória, state of Espírito Santo, southeastern southeastern Brazil. Boletim do Museu de Biologia Mello Brazil. Check List 7: 290–298. Leitão 29: 5–15. Hamdan, B., Lira-da-Silva, R.M. (2012): The snakes of Bahia State, northeastern Brazil: species richness, composition and biogeographical notes. Salamandra 48: 31–50. Hartmann, M.T., Del Grande, M.L., Gondim, M.J., Mendes, M.C., Marques, O.A.V. (2002): Reproduction and activity of the snail- eating snake, Dipsas albifrons (Colubridae), in the southeastern Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 37: 111–114. 80 Iuri Ribeiro Dias et al. 1 APPENDIX. Known localities of Dipsas albifrons with their approximate geographic coordinates. The

Appendix. Known2 localities new records of Dipsas we detail albifrons in this paper with are their preceded approximate by asterisks geographic (*). References coordinates. are listed numerically, The new with records we detail in this * paper are preceded 3by asterisksintegers representing ( ). References publications are aslisted follows: numerically, 1 = this study, with 2 = Argôlo integers (2004), representing 3 = Passos et publicationsal. (2005), 4 as follows: 1 = this study, 2 = Argôlo (2004), 3 = Passos et al. (2005), 4 = Silva-Soares et al. (2011), 5 = Ferreira and Silva-Soares (2012), 6 = Cicchi 4 = Silva-Soares et al. (2011), 5 = Ferreira and Silva-Soares (2012), 6 = Cicchi et al. (2007), 7 = Centeno et et al. (2007), 7 = Centeno et al. (2008), 8 = Sazima and Muscat (2016), 9 = Kunz and Guizoni-Junior (2009). 5 al. (2008), 8 = Sazima and Muscat (2016), 9 = Kunz and Guizoni-Junior (2009).

Localities Latitude Longitude Reference Bahia State *Guaratinga 16.44°S 39.98°W 1 *Macarani - RPPN Mata do Passarinho 15.75°S 40.52°W 1 Mucuri 18.13°S 39.79°W 2 Espírito Santo State Afonso Cláudio 20.08°S 41.13°W 3 Castelo 20.60°S 41.20°W 3 Colatina 19.54°S 40.63°W 3 Guandu 20.25°S 41.08°W 3 Santa Teresa 19.92°S 40.60°W 3 São Gabriel da Palha 19.02°S 40.54°W 3 Vila Velha 20.33°S 40.29°W 3 Vitória 20.32°S 40.35°W 4,5 Paraná State Antonina 25.43°S 48.71°W 3 Itaperuçu 25.22°S 49.35°W 3 Jussara 23.62°S 52.47°W 3 Mallet 25.88°S 50.82°W 3 Palmeira 25.43°S 50.01°W 3 Paranaguá 25.52°S 48.51°W 3 Ponta Grossa 25.10°S 50.16°W 3 Rio de Janeiro State Angra dos Reis 23.01°S 44.32°W 3 Cabo Frio 22.88°S 42.02°W 3 Maricá 22.92°S 42.82°W 3 São Paulo State Alcatrazes Island 24.10°S 45.70°W 3,6 Apiaí 24.51°S 48.84°W 3 Peruíbe 24.32°S 47.00°W 3 Queimada Grande Island 24.48°S 46.68°W 6 São Sebastião- Ilha Bela 23.77°S 45.35°W 3,7 Ubatuba 23.45°S 45.14°W 8 Santa Catarina State 3 Bananal 28.43°S 48.85°W 3 Blumenau 26.92°S 49.07°W 3 Campos 27.40°S 51.23°W 3 Corupá 26.43°S 49.24°W 3 1  Garúva 26.03°S 48.86°W 3 Indaial 26.90°S 49.23°W 3 Jaraguá do Sul 26.49°S 49.07°W 3 Joinville 26.30°S 48.85°W 3 Massaranduba 26.61°S 49.01°W 3 Palhoça 27.85°S 48.63°W 9 Pomerode 26.74°S 49.18°W 3 Porto Belo 27.16°S 48.55°W 3 Rio Natal 26.25°S 49.38°W 3 São Bento do Sul 26.25°S 49.38°W 3 São Francisco do Sul 26.24°S 48.64°W 3 6

Accepted by Martin Jansen

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