A new species of Dendrophidion (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Atlantic Rain Forest of Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

A new species of Dendrophidion belonging to the D. dendrophis species group is described from Mata do Engenho Coimbra (08°59’S, 35°53’W; 526 m above sea level), Municipality of Ibateguara, in the Atlantic Rainforest remnants of the State of Alagoas, northeastern Brazil. Dendrophidion atlantica sp. nov. is characterized by having 154–163 ventral scales, 140–160 subcaudal scales, tail length 62.2–74.8% of snout–vent length, collar absent, head uniformly brown and dorsal ground color brown, paler on anterior third, with cream transversal lines (one half a scale long), bordered anteriorly and posteriorly by dark brown lines (one half a scale long), distributed from the neck to the tail; hemipenis single, subcylindrical, unicapitate, and unicalyculate; calyces large, well defined, papillate; a series of 12 large spines just below the capitulum, on the asulcate and lateral sides; a series of four spines, two large laterals and two small between them, in the basal region of the asulcate side of the organ body; two large spines on the lateral distal areas of the sulcate side of the hemipenial body; sulcus spermaticus centrolineal, bifurcating at the tip of the capitulum.