Two new species of Ramphotyphlops (Squamata: Typhlopidae) from Queensland

6 Pages·1998·1.7 MB·English

by  Patrick J Couper

TWO NEW SPECIES OF RAMPHOTYPHLOPS{Sq\JMAkTK\ TYPHLOPIDAE)
FROM QUEENSLAND
PATRICK J. COUPER, JEANETTEA. COVACEVICHAND STEPHENK. WILSON
Couper, PJ., Covacevich, J.A. &Wilson, S.K. 1998 06 29:Two new speciesofRamphoty-
phlops (Squamata: Typhlopidae) from Queensland. Memoirs ofthe Queensland Museum
42(2): 459-464. Brisbane. ISSN0079-8835.
To Australia’s Ramphotyphlops-r'\e\\ herpetofauna are added R. robertsi sp. nov. and R.
aspina sp. nov. The former is known only from liie holotype from Shipton’s Flat, near
Cooktown, northeastern Queensland. Amidbody scale countof22 separates itfrom all but
five of its Australian congeners. From these it is easily distinguished by its strongly
dichromatic pattern. Ramphotyphlops. aspina sp. nov. isknownfromtheholotype and one
paratypefromtheBarcaldinearea, central Queensland.Thisspeciesisverydistinct, lacking
thecaudal spinewhich appearsto bepresent in all otherAustralianRamphotyphlops spp.
Squamata, Typhlopidae, Ramphotyphlops, Queensland, Australia.
P.d Couper, J.A. Covacevich S.K. Wilson. QueenslandMuseum, PO Box 3300, South
Brisbane 4101, Australia: 21 November 1998.
Australia’s snakes are relatively well-known 1994; Storr et al., 1986). Like many other Ram-
taxonomically and, to a lesser degree, ecologi- p—hotyphlopsspp.,botharebasedonsmallsamples
cally. However, one family, Typhlopidae, re- the first (from near Cooktown, northeastern
mains poorly-known on both fronts. Relative Queensland [NEQ]) on a single specimen; the
neglect ofAustralia’s highly diverse Ramphoty- second (from the Barcaldine area, central
phlopsspp. resultsfrom acombinationoffactors. Queensland [CQ]) on two specimens collected
Manyspeciesaresmall,andsimilarsuperficially. close to 80 years apart. While recognising that
Most are grey-brown/brown and have high ven- description ofthese species from such scant ma-
tral scalecounts andheadshieldswhicharediffi- terial precludes an account ofvariation, it seems
cult to delineate. Hence, examination of reasonable to proceed because many more years
mspeencsimoefnRsamipshtoitmyep-hcloonpssumairnegd.iffFiucrutlhterto, csoplelceic-t bmeaylocealtaepds.eTbheefocroellmeocrtoersopfetchiemNeEnsQosfpeeicthiemrencains
so, for many species, there are only small series a naturalist who has lived near the collection
in museum collections. Several species are locality for 40+ years and knows the area inti-
known only from type material. mately. That he has seen only one specimen of
this species in that time evidences the dilficulty
To the already Ramphotyphlops-x'xoh Austra- in obtaining additional material. The specimens
lian herpetofauna we add two new, highly-dis- ofthese new species are small and slightly dam-
tinctive species. Prior to their discovery, 34 aged. To avoid further damage, dissections to
speciesofRamphotyphlopswererecognisedfrom determinesex/maturity/stateofmalegenitaliahave
Australia, 16fromQueensland. MostQueensland not been undertaken. We follow Shea & Homer
species weredescribed inthe late 19th century in (1997)inassigningthesenewspeciestoRampho-
pioneeringworksbyearly ‘giants’ ofherpetology typhlopsonthebasisofgeography(Robb, 1966).
(e.g.,A. Boulenger,J.E.GrayandG. Peters);two
date from the onlyAustralia-widerevision ofthe MATERIALS AND METHODS
genus (Waite, 1918); and two have been de-
scribed recently (Ingram & Covacevich, 1993). Snout-vent length was measured with a stand-
Increasingly, it hasbecome apparentthatAustra- ard 30cm ruler. The rostral/head width ratio was
lia’s tropics and subtropics harbour many unde- calculated from head drawings ofthe holotypes.
scribed species (e.g., Storr, 1981; Ingram & All other measurements were taken using Mitu-
Covacevich, 1993; Shea & Horner, 1997). toyo electronic callipers. The species accounts
One of the new species is unusual in being follow the format ofShea& Homer (1997).
markedly dichromatic. The other appears to be The presence ofa caudal spine in all currently
uniqueamongstAustralianRamphotyphlopsspp. recognised Australian species (34) except the
in lacking a caudal spine, a feature regarded as new species from the Barcaldine area was con-
consistently present in the genus (e.g., Cogger, firmed by examination ofspecimens ofthe species
460 MEMOIRS OFTHE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
Donnellan (1993): R. australis (Gray 1845), R.
centralis^iorx^ 1984,7?. endoterus{'^?i\Xt, 1918),
R. hamatus StoiT, 1981, R. howi Storr, 1983, R.
kimberleyensis Storr, 1981, R. leptosoma Robb,
1972,/?. leucoproctus(fiouXQWgtx, 1889), R. mar-
garetae Storr, 1981, R. micromma (Kinghom,
&
1929), /?. pilbarensis Aplin Donnellan, 1993,
R. pingiiis (Waite, 1897), R. troglodytes Storr,
1981, M’aitii(Boulenger, 1895) and R. yampi-
ensis Storr, 1981. Whether the presence or ab-
sence of a caudal spine is related to sexual or
ontogeneticdifferences, ordamage,wasassessed
in a sample of24 R. nigrescens which contained
adults of both sexes, and juveniles. All speci-
mens, including those desiccated or damaged,
have a prominent caudal spine. Removal ofthe
distal scale containing the caudal spine from one
specimen (QMJ57932) required considerable
force. Once this was done, the tail ofthis speci-
men was compared with those ofthe two speci-
mens from the Barcaldine area (QMJ7, J51541).
The tails ofboth Barcaldine specimens were in-
tact, being capped by a smooth, highly-polished
distalscale. Bycomparison,thetailofOMJ57932
terminated in dull, dermal tissue.
Ramphotyphlops robertsi sp. nov.
&
^(Figs 2)
1
ETYMOLOGY. Named for Lewis Roberts, eminent
naturalistand Honorary ConsultantoftheQueensland
Museum, collectoroftheholotype.
MATERIAL. HOLOTYPE: QMJ63736, Romeo Ck,
via Shipton’sFial(15°50’S, 145°14’E) NEQ, 10 Feb,
1983.
DIAGNOSIS. Ramphotyphlops robertsi sp. nov.
is easily distinguished from its congeners by the
following characters combined: strongly dichro-
maticpattern(inalcohol,dorsumpuiplishbrown,
venter white); 22 midbody scale rows; 556 ven-
trals; a bluntly-rounded snout; rostral circular
from above; nasal not completely divided byna-
sal cleft.Just visible from above andjoining sec-
ond supralabial below.
DESCRIPTION. Head smoothly-rounded above
and in profile; dorsal surface ofrostral large and
circular(58%headwidth); ventral lobe ofrostral
narrower (32% head width), tapering caudally,
lateralmarginsconcave;nasalsbroadlyseparated
byprefrontal; prefrontal slightly largerthan fron-
FIQGM.J61.37R3am6p)hoAtbyopvhel,opdsorrsoablervtisiewsp.ofnohve.ad(.HoCleonttyrpe,e tal; supraoculars broadly separated by prefron-
lateral view. Below^ ventral view. tal/frontaljunction; nostrils inferior,nearapexof
snout, equi-distant from rostral and preocular,
listed in Appendix 1. One type description: R. opening laterally; nasal cleft beginningatsecond
tovelli (Loveridge, 1945); extrapolation from supralabial, extending across rostroventral mar-
Cogger (1986), Storr et a!. (1986) and Aplin & ginofnostril,thencurvingtowardstherostraland
TWONEW SPECIES OFRAMPHOTYPHLOPSFROMQUEENSLAND 461
FIG. 2. Holotype ofRamphotyphlopsrobertsi(QMJ63736).
terminating 2/3 the distance from nostril toros- Colourin alcohol, strongly dichromatic, dor-
tral, just visible from above; preocular narrower sal and ventral colours sharply delineated;
than nasal and subequalto ocular; eye small only dorsum dark purplish brown (11 scale rows);
just visible, beneath preocular/ocular suture, and rostral cream; venter uniformly cream (11 scale
immediately below preocular/ocular/supraocular rows).
junction; posterior edge ofocular overlaps three COMPARISON. Ramphotyphlops robertsi can
equal scales (one—parietal and two postoculars); be confused with only Ramphotyphlops spp.
foursupralabials firstsmallestandoverlapped which have 22 midbody scale rows and a nasal
by rostral lobe ofnasal; second supralabial larger cleft beginning at the second supralabial [from
overlapped by rostral lobe and caudal lobe of Australia - R. australis, R. hamatus, R. kimber-
nasalandpreocular;thirdsupralabiallarger,over- leyensis,R.pilbarensis,R.polygrammicusandR.
lappedbypreocular,stronglyoverlappingocular; troglodytes', from PNG/eastem Indonesia-R. de-
fourth supralabial much the largest, elongate, pressus (Peters, 1880), R. flaviventer (Peters,
overlapped by ocular; men—tal subequal to post- 1864), R. olivaceus (Gray, 1845) and R. willeyi
mental; infralabials three second largest; mi- (Boulenger, 1900)]. It can be separated from the
crotubercles ofhead shields most dense on nasal Australian spp. by its strongly dichromatic col-
scute and lower surface ofrostral; glands visible our/pattem. R. robertsi is further separated from
beneath posteriormargin ofnasals; tail with ter- R. australisbyaconsiderablyhigherventralscale
minal spine. count (556 vs 278-357); from R. hamatus and R.
Midbody scale rows 22; ventral scales 556; pilbarensisby snoutshape in profile(roundedvs
subcaudal scales 12; SVL 285mm; body width angular); from R. kimberleyensis and R. poly-
4.3mm (1.5% SVL); tail length 4.7mm (1.6% grammicusbytheshapeoftherostral from above
SVL); headwidth 2.9mm (1.0% SVL). (circular vs elongate) and from R. troglodytes by
462 MEMOIRS OFTHE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
flaviventer)itcanalsobeseparatedbyitsstrongly
dichromaticcolour/pattem. FromR.flaviventerit
isreadilydistinguishedbytheshapeoftherostral
from above(circularvsoval). This characteralso
separates it from R. depressus. R. robertsi is fur-
therseparated from thesetwospecies by thecon-
ditionofthenasalcleft(visiblefromabovevsnot
visible from above); from R. olivaceus by its
rostral scale (without atransverse keel vs with a
transverse keel) and from R. willeyi by its snout
profile (smoothly-rounded vs a rounded wedge)
(McDowell, 1974; Wallach, 1996).
HABITAT.OpenforestdominatedbyBlueGum,
Eucalyptus tereticornis, Brown Bloodwood, E.
trachyphloia and Yellow Stringybark, E.
acmenoides.
REMARKS. The type specimen was found
emerging from afallenEucalyptusbranchwhich
had been hollowed-out by termites, and sub-
sequently recolonised by small black ants. Both
thesnakeandtheantswere ‘agitated’,suggesting
that the branch may have fallen to the ground
recently. Thesnakewasseenfeedingonanteggs,
which were regurgitated after its capture (L.
Roberts, pers. comm.).
Ramphotyphlops aspina sp. nov.
&
(Figs 3 4)
ETYMOLOGY. Latin, a-, withoutandspina, aspine.
TYPE MATERIAL. HOLOTYPE: QMJ51541, Mar-
got Stn, 20km N Barcaldine(23®27’S, 145°I6’E) CQ,
donated 1990 by Tim Pulsford. PARATYPE: QMJ7,
CoreenaStn,Barcaldine(23^17'S, 145°24’E)CQ,reg-
istered 26 May, 1911, donated W.C. Miller.
DIAGNOSIS. Ramphotyphlops aspina lacks a
caudalspine. Itisfurtherdistinguishedfromother
membersofthegenusbythefollowingcharacters
combined: 18 midbodyscalerows;403-428 ven-
trals;snoutbluntly-rounded from above,rounded
and flattened laterally; rostral elongate from
above; nasal not completely divided by nasal
cleft, clearly visible from above andjoining sec-
ond supralabial below.
DESCRIPTION. Headrounded andslightly-flat-
tened in profile; head bluntly rounded dorsally,
slightly ‘squared’; rostral large and elongate
above (37% head width), slightly tapered
caudally; ventral lobe ofrostral narrower (24%
FIQGM.J531.5R4a1m)p.hoAtbyopvhel,opdsorassalpivnaieswp.ofnohve.ad(.HoCleonttyrpe,e head width) tapering caudally, lateral margins
lateral view. Below, ventral view. parallel; nasals broadly separated by prefrontal
(QMJ51541)orinpointcontact(QMJ7);prefron-
the nasal cleft (not completely dividing nasal tal slightly larger than frontal (QMJ51541) or
scale vs completely dividing nasal scale). From smaller than frontal (QMJ7); supraoculars
the PNG/eastern Indonesia spp. (except R. broadly separated by prefrontal/frontalJunction;
TWONEW SPECIES OFRAMPHOTYPHLOPSmOU QUEENSLAND
463
FIG. 4. HolotypeofRamphotyphlopsaspina (QMJ51541).
nostrils inferior, near apex ofsnout, equi-distant Midbodyscalerows 18;ventralscales403-428;
from rostral and preocular, opening laterally; na- subcaudal scales 10-16; SVL 230-275mm; body
sal cleft beginningat second supralabial, extend- width 3.6-3.7mm (1.3-1.6% SVL); tail length 1.1
ingacrossrostroventralmarginofnostril,passing -2.3% SVL; head width .94-1.1% SVL.
dorsally and slightly rostrally to terminate 2/3 to Measurements ofholotype: ventral scales 403;
3/4 the distance from nostril to rostral, clearly subcaudal scales 16; SVL 230mm; body width
visible from above; nasal wider than preocular; 3.8mm; tail 5.5mm; head width 2.6mm.
preocularabout as wide as ocular; eye small and
Colour in alcohol, pale pinkish/tan above and
distinct beneath ocular/supraocularjunction, im-
mediately posterior to preocular/ocular/su- below; each scale with a darkeredge.
praocularJunction; ocularcaudally overlaps two COMPARISON. Only Australian species of
postoculars and a largerparietal; firstsupralabial Ramphotyphlops have 18 midbody scale rows.
smallest, overlappedbyrostral lobeofnasal; sec- Ramphotyphlops aspina can be confused with
ondsupralabial larger,overlapped byrostral lobe thoseAustralianspecieshaving 18midbodyscale
and caudal lobe of nasal and preocular; third rows and a nasal cleft beginning at the second
supralabial larger, overlapped by preocular but supralabial {R. affinis, R. grypus, R. guentheri, R.
strongly overlapping ocular; fourth supralabial howi,R. leptosoma,R. margaretae,R. micromma
much the largest,elongate, overlappedbyocular; andR. chamodracaena). Itisseparatedfromthese
mental narrower than postmental; infralabials species in lacking a caudal spine. R. aspina can
three - third the largest; microtubercles ofhead beseparatedfurtherfrom R. affinisandR. grypus
shields densest on lower surfaces ofrostral and by itssnoutprofile(rounded vsangular); from R.
nasals; glands not visible below margins ofhead guentheri,R. margaretaeand R. chamodracaena
shields; tail lackingterminal spine. by its nasal cleft (clearly visible from above vs
464 MEMOIRS OFTHEQUEENSLAND MUSEUM
not visible from above) and from R. howi, R. ROBB, J. 1966. The genericstatus oftheAustralasian
&
leptosoma and R. micromma by its nasal shield typhlopids(Reptilia:Squamata).Annals Maga-
(not completely divided vs completely divided). SHEA.zinGe.Mof.N&atuHrOalRHNiEsRto,ryP.Se1r9i9es7.1A3(9n):ew67s5p-e6c7i9e.s of
HABITAT. Theonlytwocollection localitiesfor RamphotyphlopsfromtheDarwinarea,withnotes
R. aspinaare in ‘sheep country’ ofQueensland’s on two similar species from northern Australia.
central downs. Mostofthe area inwhich R, aspina The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art
was found has been cleared of open eucalypt GalleriesoftheNorthern Territory 13; 53-60.
forestandreplacedbyintroducedpasturegrasses. STORR, G.M. 1981. ThegenusRamphotyphlops(Ser-
pentes:Typhlopidae)fromWesternAustralia.Re-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS cords of the Western Australian Museum 9(3):
We are grateful to Paul Homer (Northern Ter- STORR23,5-G2.7M1.., SMITH, L.A. & JOHNSTONE, R.E.
ritory Museum, Darwin) for examining speci- 1986. Snakes of Western Australia. (Western
mens in his care; Ross Sadlier (AustralAiaMn Australian Museum: Perth).
Museum, Sydney) forproviding a listing of WAITE, E.R. 1918. Review of the Australian blind
Ramphotyphlops specimens from CQ and NEQ; snakes (Family Typhlopidae). Records of the
Glenn Shea(DepartmentofVeterinaryAnatomy, SouthAustralianMuseum 1(1): 1-34.
UniversityofSydney)forexaminingthetypes of WALLACH, V. 1996. The systematic status of the
R. minimus and R, yirrikalae\ Tim Pulsford Ramphotyphlops flaviventer (Peters) complex
(Queensland Department of Environment) for (Serpentes: Typhlopidae). Amphibia - Reptilia
providing collection details, and JeffWright for 17(4): 341-359.
We
preparing the photographs. are indebted to APPENDIX
Lewis Roberts for collecting specimen 1
Specimensof examined:QueenslandMu-
QMJ63736 and bringing it to our attention. seum: R. qffinis (Gray/l845) - QMJ11630, 5262, 23870,
LITERATURE CITED 44501;R. bituberculatus(Peters, 1863) -QMJ33377,33378,
33380; R. braminus (Oaudin, 1803) - QMJ32880, 32970,
APLIN, K.P. & DONNELLAN, S.C. 1993. A new 4379560930;; RR.. cbhraomomoidr(aBcoaueineangeIrn.gra18m98&) -CoQvMacJc2v9i5c4h,. 210939135,-
(spTeycpihelsopoifdabel,inSdqsnuaakmea,lag)e,nufsroRmamnpohrotthywpehsltoeprsn dQiM\Je2rs8u0s82(,Wa3it1e9,63,13899647)3,-4O0M2J3329ho4l3otyhpoel,ot4y1p5e5;0,R5.19g8r0y;puR.s
Australia, with a redescription of R. hamatus, (Waite, 1918)-QMJ23943,27510,39596; R.guemheri(Pe-
Storr, 1981. Records ofthe Western Australian ters, 1865)-QMJ2266;R. ligaius(PeXers, 1879)-QMJ57653,
Museum 16(2): 243-256. 62775; R. nigrescens (Gray, 1845)- QMJ2875, 2884, 3447,
COGGER.H.G. 1986.ReptilesandamphibiansofAus- 5731, 6636, 7346, 10577, 12348, 20696. 22700, 22706,
tralia. 4lh ed. (Reed: Sydney). 35333, 35649, 38527, 43754-55, 43780, 44049, 45255.
1994. ReptilesandAmphibiansofAustralia.6thed. 4(S6c1h3l0e,gel4,6311863,9)5-4Q5M3J85,745488.565.988557,93620:625R,6p1o5l8y8g;rRampmriocxuhs
(Reed: Sydney).
INGRAM. G..I. & COVACEVICH, J.A. 1993. Two wIwn.a9r(aWmai&teC.ov1a8c9e3v)i-cQh,MJ12999336-,Q1M0J98257.211.4221326,2308,74217:378?.7shiollvoi-a
new species ofstriped blindsnakes. Memoirs of tvpe, 31576, 31577,31579. 35872.43785,46128.60852; R.
theQueensland Museum 34(1): 181-184. linguirostris (Peters, 1867) - QMJ29747, 44502, 56903,
LOVERIDGE. A. 1945. A new blind snake(Typhlops 58642; R. weidii(Peters, 1867) - QMJ22670. 23965, 43373,
McDONttWoheveEewlBLliiGoL)lu,oifgnriSeco.aamBl.aDSn1oad9cr7iwt4eih.tney,ASoofAcluaWostatmasrolhanoilgsinua,g.etwooPinftr.hot5hc8see:pesedcn1iia1nak1lge-s1sr1e2oof.-ff NRk4N.a7TTl9MmMa6iReR4n17i(.6mK5ui0N2sn4o’g17r*h,.to(rhKn29et,81rn76nTg469h.54To2emh)Rr,o.rl-io1Atnt9oMy2erp9Rmye)I.aA2M3M3Su48Rh1s1Ie9e0a6u.hm9o&A:l2uostht-yHorploaeRorl..tinyaepmneri;MnuiR1.sm9yeu9isur7rmi:--•
erencetothose intheBerniceP. BishopMuseum,
part 1. Scolecophidia. Journal of Herpetology * The holotype ofR minimus possesses a caudal spine.
8(1): 1 57. However,oneoftwoadditionalspecimenscurrentlyassignedto
this taxon in the collection oftheNorthernTerritory Museum
lacksaspine(P. Homer,pers.comm.).