Rediscovery of the Earless Microteiid Lizard Anotosaura collaris Amaral, 1933 (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae): A redescription complemented by osteological, hemipenial, molecular, karyological, physiological and ecological data

Abstract

More than a century after its discovery by Ernest Garbe, and almost 80 years after its original description, we obtained a series of specimens of the earless gymnophthalmid Anotosaura collaris, the type species of the genus, up to now known only by a single specimen. On the basis of the material obtained at and close to the type locality we redescribe the species, adding information about the external and hemipenial morphology, osteology and karytoype. Molecular data confirm its sister relationship with Anotosaura vanzolinia as well as the close relationship of Anotosaura with the Ecpleopodini Colobosauroides and Dryadosaura. We supplement this information with thermophysiological, ecogeographical, karyotypic and ecological data.

The herpetofauna of Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões, state of Piauí, Brazil, with a regional species list from an ecotonal area of Cerrado and Caatinga

“…Initially, we performed faunistic comparisons with herpetofaunal lists available for intensively sampled (long-term sampling) conservation ), Estação Ecológica de Uruçuí-Una (EEUU) (Dal Vechio et al 2013), and Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara (PNSCa) (Cavalcanti et al 2014). An additional motivation in using these listings is the similar latitude in which these areas are located, forming a Cerrado-Caatinga transect.…”

“…Indeed, the most diverse lists of local herpetofauna are those based on intensive field work with long periods of sampling along different climatic seasons and/or mega infrastructure projects with extensive devastation of natural habitats, such as hydroelectric power plants (Pavan & Dixo 2004, Vaz-Silva et al 2007, Silva Junior et al 2005, Loebmann & Haddad 2010, Nogueira et al 2010, Silveira et al 2010, Dal Vechio et al 2013. In addition, long-term surveys provide necessary material to understand the basic biology of the species (Vitt 1982;Cruz 1994;Mesquita & Colli 2003;Werneck et al 2009;Dal Vechio et al 2014.…”

“…However, extensive field work carried out in last two decades showed the opposite, with elevated local diversity recorded throughout their extension (Cerrado: Colli et al 2002, Rodrigues 1987, Vitt et al 2005, França & Araújo 2006, Silveira 2006, Recoder & Nogueira 2007, Dal Vechio et al 2013; Caatinga: Borges-Nojosa & Cascon 2005, Ribeiro et al 2008, Loebmann & Haddad 2010, Moura et al 2011a, Moura et al 2011b) and exceptional regional diversity along the contact zone between the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes (Rodrigues 1984a(Rodrigues ,b, 1987(Rodrigues , 1988(Rodrigues , 1996Nogueira et al 2010.…”

“…Such efforts also resulted in the description of several new species for the region (Cerrado: Colli et al 2003, Ferrarezzi et al 2005, Nogueira & Rodrigues 2006, Rodrigues et al 2007, Pinna et al 2010, Teixeira Jr. et al 2012Arias et al 2014;Recoder et al 2014; Caatinga: Rodrigues et al 2001, Rodrigues et al 2003b, Bour and Zaher 2005, Nogueira & Rodrigues 2006, Arias et al 2011a, Arias et al 2011b, Passos et al 2011) and the discovery of large populations of species that were considered rare until now (Rodrigues et al 2013). High diversity in Cerrado faunal assemblages can be explained by local physiognomic heterogeneity, (Eiten 1972, Oliveira-Filho & Ratter 2002, Colli et al 2002) and historical climatic stability (Werneck et al 2012).…”

Are Hemipenial Spines Related to Limb Reduction? A Spiny Discussion Focused on Gymnophthalmid Lizards (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae)

“…Dryadosaura nordestina also presents series of mineralized comb-like spicules throughout the body flounces, an unusual characteristic among members of the tribe, which is only shared with three species of Arthrosaura (A. reticulata, A. synaptolepis, and A. montigena). The recently rediscovered species Anotosaura collaris differs from the congener A. vanzolinia by exhibiting the hemipenis ornamented with nude flounces lacking any vestige of calcified structures (see Rodrigues et al, 2013). Conversely, the Ecpleopodini taxa with welldeveloped limbs Adercosaurus vixadnexus (sensu Myers and Donnelly, 2001), Amapasaurus tetradactylus, and some species of the Leposoma parietale group (sensu Ruibal, 1952; Rodrigues, 1997) exhibit poorly ornamented hemipenes, with nude flounces sparcely distributed along the hemipenial body, whereas Ecpleopus gaudichaudii has completely nude hemipenes (Uzzell, 1969;Myers et al, 2009;Nunes, 2011).…”