Abstract
A new snake of the genus Chironius is described based on external morphological characters and phylogenetic evidence. The new species occurs in Bolivia, both in the humid montane forests of the Yungas of Cochabamba and in Santa Cruz. It differs from all congeners in having 10 dorsal scale rows at midbody, an entire cloacal plate, keeled paravertebral rows, lightly colored lower portions of the supralabials, a yellow snout, a short hemipenis, and lacking postocular stripes, proximal enlarged spines on the hemipenis, and apical pits. Adults and juveniles have an emerald green background color. The new species is recovered as the sister taxon of C. leucometapus, which is known from the Amazonian slopes of the Andes between central Peru and northern Ecuador. We also provide an identification key to the species of Chironius with 10 dorsal rows at midbody.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 58-67 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Amphibian and Reptile Conservation |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| State | Published - 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© (2025), (Amphibian and Reptile Conservation). All rights reserved.
Funding
Acknowledgments.—We thank Philippe Kok and John Murphy for critically reading and commenting on this manuscript. We also thank the Carrasco National Park and its park rangers for their invaluable work to benefit the conservation of our biological wealth; ENDE Valle Hermoso S.A., TSK Electrónica y Electricidad S.A., Sucursal Bolivia, and Carlos Caballero S.A. for their significant support during the realization of this work and commitment to the conservation of wildlife in Bolivia; B. Delling and B. Kajrup (Swedish Museum of Natural History) who kindly provided data and photographs of the holotype of Chironius fuscus; C. Urdiales (Estación Biológica de Doñana - EBD-CSIC), D. Lizarro (†) (Center for Aquatic Resources Research - CIRA), R. Sahonero (Centro de Tecnología Agroindustrial, FCyT-UMSS), J. Balderrama, F. Onofre, and B. Calcina for their constant support during fieldwork; and D.A. Paucar (QCAZ) for preparing the hemipenis of the new species. L. Gonzales thanks R. Rodriguez and O. Helmig for their company and support in the field; H. Azurduy (Natura Foundation – Bolivia) for his support and trust during work in Vallegrande, Santa Cruz; and K. Rivero (Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado) for permissions and access to the collections. Laboratory work was funded by grants from SENESCYT (Arca de Noé Initiative; S.R. Ron and O. Torres-Carvajal PIs) and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.
| Funders |
|---|
| Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación |
| Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador |
Keywords
- Carrasco National Park
- hemipenes
- phylogeny
- reptiles
- Squamata
- systematics
