Dryophylax phoenix (FRANCO, TREVINE, MONTINGELLI & ZAHER, 2017)
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Dryophylax phoenix
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | Portuguese: Cobra-Espada, Corre-Campo |
| Synonym | Thamnodynastes phoenix FRANCO, TREVINE, MONTINGELLI & ZAHER 2017 Thamnodynastes sp. 2 – FRANCO & FERREIRA, 2003 Thamnodynastes sp. 2 – HAMDAN & LIRA DA SILVA 2012 Thamnodynastes sp. 2 – COELHO et al. 2013 Thamnodynastes sp. – GUEDES et al. 2014 Thamnodynastes phoenix — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 Thamnodynastes phoenix — TREVINE et al. 2021 Dryophylax phoenix — TREVINE et al. 2022 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Tocantins) Type locality: Brazil, Pernambuco, municipality of Petrolina, 09°19’29.00” S, 40°32’50.00” W, 389 m above sea level, Campus Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: IBSP 87527, adult male collected by Leonardo de Barros Ribeiro on 4 November 2011 (Figs 1 and 2). Paratypes (N = 12): Brazil: Alagoas: UHE Xingó (9°37’25” S, 37°47’54”W): MZUSP 10875 (former CHESF 3455), adult female, no collector information; and MZUSP 10878 (former CHESF 3723), adult male, no collector information; Bahia: municipality of Guanambi (14°12’ S, 42°46’ W): IBSP 54904, adult male, collected by Guanambi city hall, 17 August 1992; municipality of Queimadas (10°58’40’’ S, 39°37’26’’ W): MZUSP 10775, adult female, collected by Miguel T. Rodrigues, October 1991; Ceará: Serra do Baturité (4°23’48.8’’ S, 39°01’28.3’’ W): MZUSP 21180, young female, collected by Natália Rizzo Friol et al., 27 October 2012; Pernambuco: municipality of Floresta (7°23’20’’ S, 38°46’26’’ W): MFCH 1897 (former LPE 1275), adult female, no collector information, 23 May 2009; municipality of Salgueiro (8°04’00’’ S, 39°06’00’’ W): MFCH 1887 (former NCA 822), young male, no collector information, 19 May 2009; UHE Itaparica (9°08’37” S 38°18’43” W): IBSP 52127, adult female, collected by CHESF Company, 20 August 1988; Piauí: Estação Ecológica Uruçuí-Una (8°38’ S, 44°56’ W): MZUSP 18146, adult female, and MZUSP 18147, adult male, collected by Hussam Zaher et al., 17– 30 January 2001; municipality of Piracuruca, Parque Nacional das Sete Cidades (4°5’59” S, 41°42’50” W): MPEG 23344, adult male, no collector information, 7 September 2005; Tocantins: municipality of Palmeiras do Tocantins (6°36’49’’ S, 47°32’46’’ W): MZUSP 19105 (former EST 14460), adult male, collected on UHE Estreito by Systemae Naturae Consultoria Ambiental, 3 November 2011; municipality of Mateiros, Pares do Jalapão, Posto das Dunas (10°22’40’’ S, 46°40’30’’ W): MNRJ 15196, adult female, collected by A. Chagas, 14 June 2007. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Thamnodynastes phoenix sp. n. differs from all other species of the genus by the following combination of characters: 19/19/15 dorsal rows with smooth scales; maximum SVL 495 mm; maximum TL 136 mm; ventral scales 133 to 159; subcaudals 40 to 66; coloration of the ventral portion of the head extremely spotted with dark-brown dots, infralabials and chin shields with a white centre. Darkening intensifies on the infralabial borders, outlining a clear contrast of lateral and dark margins (Fig. 2). Two pairs of non-continuous longitudinal dark ventral stripes, darker at the transition of the venter and the lateral sides, with a more conspicuous black spot on the apex of each ventral scale; tip of the tail lighter than the overall body coloration without blotches or dots, almost white in juvenile specimens. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Greek phoenix (φοῖνιξ phoinix; Latin: phoenix, phoenix, fenix), referring to the mythological bird that dies in combustion and subsequently rises from ashes in a cycle of life and death. This name acknowledges the fact that the previously selected holotype, used originally for the species description, was lost in the fire that consumed 90% of the Herpetological Collection “Alphonse Richard Hoge” of the Instituto Butantan, on March 15, 2010. Some specimens, including two paratypes, were rescued from the fire, and the data previously collected from the lost specimens were kept and used herein. |
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