Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2019-09-11
Page range: 370–392
Abstract views: 152
PDF downloaded: 6

Taxonomy of the Micrurus spixii species complex (Serpentes, Elapidae)

Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, PB 399, Belém, 66017-970, Pará, Brazil. Pós-graduação em Biodiversidade e Evolução, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, PB 399, Belém, 66017-970, Pará, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Ambientais e Saúde, Escola de Ciências Médicas, Farmacêuticas e Biomédicas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás, Rua 232, 128, 3º andar, Goiânia, 74605-140, Goiás, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Ambientais e Saúde, Escola de Ciências Médicas, Farmacêuticas e Biomédicas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás, Rua 232, 128, 3º andar, Goiânia, 74605-140, Goiás, Brazil.
Laboratório de Herpetologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, PB 399, Belém, 66017-970, Pará, Brazil. Pós-graduação em Biodiversidade e Evolução, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, PB 399, Belém, 66017-970, Pará, Brazil.
Reptilia Amazonia Species delimitation Hemipenial morphology Osteology Color pattern

Abstract

Historically, the Micrurus spixii species complex comprises four subspecies (M. s. spixii, M. s. martiusi, M. s. obscurus, and M. s. princeps), however, recently, some authors have considered only two full species (M. spixii and M. obscurus). In this paper, we report data on meristic, morphometric, color pattern in life and after preservation, cranial osteology, and hemipenis morphology to Micrurus spixii species complex. We examined 358 specimens throughout the geographical distribution, including the type-series of all taxa. Differences in color pattern and morphology of hemipenis and skull support the existence of only two diagnosable taxa, M. spixii and M. obscurus, both considered here as a full species. We corroborate the synonymy of Micrurus s. martiusi and M. spixii based on wide overlap of meristic and morphometric characters, as well as the similarities of color pattern, hemipenis and skull characters. We can distinguished M. spixii from M. obscurus (in parenthesis) by the combination of the following characters: black cephalic cap (vs. cephalic cap absent, with red parietal region), hemipenial body with spines dispersed on the asulcate surface (vs. spines arranged in rows on the asulcate surface), capitate condition of hemipenis (vs. organ partially-capitate), narrow parietal bone with posterior angular borders (vs. enlarged parietal bone with elliptical posterior border), and relatively long venom inoculating fangs (vs. relatively short venom inoculating fangs).

 

References

  1. Aird, S.D., da Silva, N.J., Qiu, L., Villar-Briones, A., Saddi, V.A., Pires de Campos Telles, M., Grau, M.L. & Mikheyev, A.S. (2017) Coralsnake venomics: analyses of venom gland Transcriptomes and Proteomes of Six Brazilian Taxa. Toxins, 9 (6), 1–64.

    https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9060187

    Boulenger, G.A. (1896) Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 3 Trustees of the British Museum, London, 427 pp.

    Boulenger, G.A. (1905) Descriptions of new snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 15 (89), 453–456.

    https://doi.org/10.1080/03745480509442832

    Campbell, J.A. & Lamar, W.W. (2004) The Venomous Reptiles of Western Hemisphere. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 475 pp.

    Cavalcanti, M.J. & Lopes, P.R.D. (1993) Análise morfométrica multivariada de cinco espécies de Serranidae (Teleostei, Perciformes). Acta Biologica Leopoldensia, 15, 53–64.

    Cundall, D. & Irish, F. (2008) The snake skull. In: Gans, C., Gaunt, A.S & Adler, K. (Eds.), Biology of the Reptilia, Morphology H (The Skull of Lepidosauria). Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, New York, pp. 349–692.

    Cunha, O.R. & Nascimento, F.P. (1982) Ofídios da Amazônia XIV–As espécies de Micrurus, Bothrops, Lachesis e Crotalus do Sul do Pará e Oeste do Maranhão, incluindo áreas de cerrado deste estado (Ophidia: Elapidae, Viperidae). Boletim Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Série Zoologia, 112, 1–58.

    Cunha, O.R. & Nascimento, F.P. (1993) Ofídios da Amazônia. As cobras da região leste do Pará. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Série Zoologia, 9 (1), 1–191.

    Di-Bernardo, M., Borges-Martins, M. & Silva Jr., N.J. (2007) A new species of coralsnake (Micrurus: Elapidae) from southern Brazil. Zootaxa, 1447, 1–26.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1447.1.1

    Dowling, H.G. (1951) A proposed standard system of counting ventrals in snakes. British Journal of Herpetology, 1 (5), 97–99.

    Feitosa, D.T., Passos, P. & Prudente, A.L.C. (2007a) Taxonomic status and geographical variation of the slender coral snake Micrurus filiformis (Günther, 1859) (Serpentes, Elapidae). South American Journal of Herpetology, 2 (3), 149–156.

    https://doi.org/10.2994/1808-9798(2007)2[149:TSAGVO]2.0.CO;2

    Feitosa, D.T., Prudente, A.L.C. & Lima, A.C. (2007b) Redescription and variation of Micrurus paraensis Cunha & Nascimento, 1973 (Serpentes: Elapidae). Zootaxa, 1470, 35–45.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1470.1.2

    Feitosa, D.T., Silva-Jr., N.J., Pires, M.G., Zaher, H. & Prudente, A.L.C. (2015) A new species of monadal coral snake of the genus Micrurus (Serpentes, Elapidae) from western Amazon. Zootaxa, 3974 (4), 538–554.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3974.4.5

    Frota, J.G., Santos Jr., A.P., Chalkidis, H.M. & Guedes, A.G. (2005) As serpentes da região do baixo Rio Amazonas, oeste do Estado do Pará, Brasil (Squamata). Biociências, 13 (2), 211–220.

    Harvey, M.B., Aparicio, E.J. & Gonzalez, L.A. (2003) Revision of the venomous snakes of Bolivia: Part 1. The coral snakes (Elapidae: Micrurus). Annals of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, 72 (1), 22–43.

    https://doi.org/10.2992/0097-4463(2005)74[1:ROTVSO]2.0.CO;2

    Jan, G. & Sordelli, F. (1872) Iconographie général des Ophidiens. J.B. Bailière et Fils, Paris, (41), 6 pp.

    Jowers, M.J., Garcia Mudarra, J.L., Charles, S.P. & Murphy, J.C. (2019) Phylogeography of West Indies Coral snakes (Micrurus): Island colonisation and banding patterns. Zoologica Scripta, 48, 1–14.

    https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12346

    Köhler, G. (2012) Color Catalogue for Field Biologists. Herpeton, Offenbacc, Hesse, 49 pp.

    Lee, M.S.Y., Sanders, K.L., King, B. & Palci, A. (2016) Diversification rates and phenotypic evolution in venomous snakes (Elapidae). Royal Society Open Science, 3 (1) 1–11.

    https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150277

    Lleonart, J., Salat, J. & Torres, G. (2000) Removing allometric effects of body size in morphological analysis. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 205, 85–93.

    https://doi.org/10.1006/jtbi.2000.2043

    Manly, B.F.J. (2004) Multivariate Statistical Methods: A Primer. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 211 pp.

    https://doi.org/10.1201/b16974

    Mendes-Pinto, T.J. & Marques de Souza, S. (2011) Preliminary assessment of amphibians and reptiles from Floresta Nacional do Trairão, with a new snake record for the Pará state, Brazilian Amazon. Salamandra, 47 (4) 199–206.

    Müller, L. (1926) Neue Reptilien und Batrachier der zoologischen Sammlung des bayerischen Staates. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 65, 193–200.

    Passos, P. & Fernandes, D.S. (2005) Variation and taxonomic status of the aquatic coral snake Micrurus surinamensis (Cuvier, 1817) (Serpentes: Elapidae). Zootaxa, 953, 1–14.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.953.1.1

    Pesantes, O.S. (1994) A method for preparing the hemipenis of preserved snakes. Journal of Herpetology, 28, 93–95.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/1564686

    Peters, W.C.H. (1881) Ueber das Vorkommen schildformiger Verbreiterungen der Dornfortsatze bei Schlangen und über einige neue oder wenig bekannte Arten dieser Abtheilung der Reptilien. Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin, 3, 49–52.

    Pires, M.G., Silva-Jr., N.J., Feitosa, D.T., Filho, G.A.P., Prudente, A.L.C. & Zaher, H. (2014) A new species of triadal coral snake of the genus Micrurus Wagler, 1824 (Serpentes: Elapidae) from northeastern Brazil. Zootaxa, 3811 (4), 569–584.

    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3811.4.8

    R Core Team (2016) A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available from: https://www.r-project.org/ (accessed 23 February 2018)

    Roze, J.A. (1983) New World coral snakes (Elapidae): a taxonomic and biological summary. Memórias do Instituto Butantan, 46, 305–338.

    Roze, J.A. & Bernal-Carlo, A. (1987) Les serpientes corales venenosas del género Leptomicrurus (Serpientes, Elapidae) de Suramérica, com descripcíon de una nueva subespécies. Bolletino de Museo Regionale di Sciencze Naturali, 5,573–608.

    Roze, J.A. (1994) Notes on taxonomy of venomous coral snakes (Elapidae) of South America. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society, 30 (4), 177–185.

    Roze, J.A. (1996) Coral Snakes of the Americas: Biology, Identification, and Venoms. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, 328 pp.

    Sabaj, M.H. (2016) Standard symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Available from: http://www.asih.org/, (accessed 23 February 2018)

    Schmidt, K.P. & Walker, W.F. (1943) Peruvian snakes from the University of Arequipa. Field Museum of the Natural History, Zoological Series, 24 (26), 293–296.

    Schmidt, K.P. (1953) The Amazonian coral snake, Micrurus spixii. Fieldiana zoology, 34 (14), 171–180.

    https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.3193

    Scrocchi, G.J. (1992) Análise preliminar de la osteologia cranial del género Micrurus Wagler 1824 (Serpentes, Elapidae). Acta Zoologica Liloana, 43, 311–327.

    Sherman, G., Sutton, T., Blazek, R., Holl, S., Dassau, O., Morely, B., Mitchell, T. & Luthman, L. (2017) Quantum Gis User Guide–Version 2.18 Las Palmas. Available from: http://www.qgis.org/en/site/forusers/download.html (accessed 23 February 2018)

    Silva Jr., N.J.(2007) Novas ocorrências de Micrurus braziliensis Roze, 1967 (Serpentes: Elapidae) em áreas de tensão ambiental no Centro-Oeste Brazileiro. Estudos, 34, 931–956.

    Silva Jr., N.J. & Sites, J.W. (1999) Revision of the Micrurus frontalis complex (Serpentes: Elapidae). Herpetological Monographs, 13, 142–194.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/1467062

    Silva Jr., N.J. & Sites, J.W. (2001) Patterns of diversity of neotropical squamate reptiles species with emphasis on the Brazilian Amazon and the conservation potential of indigenous reserves. Conservation Biology, 9, 873–901.

    https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1995.09040873.x

    Silva Jr., N.J., Buononato, M.A. & Feitosa, D.T. (2016a) As Cobras-corais do Novo Mundo. In: Silva Jr., N.J. (Ed.), As Cobras-corais do Brasil. Vol. 01. Biologia, Taxonomia, Venenos e Envenenamentos. PUC/GO Ed., Goiás, pp. 47–78.

    Silva Jr., N.J., Pires, M.G. & Feitosa, D.T. (2016b) Diversidade das cobras-corais do Brasil In: Silva Jr., N.J. (Ed.), As Cobras-corais do Brasil. Vol. 01. Biologia, Taxonomia, Venenos e Envenenamentos. PUC/GO Ed., Goiás, pp. 79–167.

    Slowinski, J.B. (1995) A phylogenetic analysis of the New World coral snakes (Elapidae: Leptomicrurus, Micruroides and Micrurus) based on allozymic and morphological characters. Journal of Herpetology, 29 (3), 325–338.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/1564981

    Valencia, J.H., Garzón-Tello, K. & Barragán-Paladines, M.E. (2016) Serpientes Venenosas del Ecuador: Sistemática, Taxonomía, Historia Natural, Conservación, Envenenamiento y Aspectos Antropológico. Fundación Herpetológica Gustavo Orcés, University of Texas at Arlington, Fondo Ambiental, Quito, Ecuador, 321 pp.

    Wagler, J. (1824) Serpentum Braziliensium species novae ou histoire naturelle des espèces nouvelles de serpens. In: Spix, J. (Ed.), Animalia nova sive species novae. Typis Francisci Seraph. Hübschmanni, pp. 1–102.

    Zaher, H. (1999) Hemipenial morphology of the South American xenodontine snakes, with a proposal for a monophyletic Xenodontinae and a reappraisal of colubrid hemipenes. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 240, 1–168.

    Zaher, H. & Prudente, A.L.C. (2003) Hemipenes of Siphlophis (Serpentes, Xenodontinae) and techniques of hemipenial preparation in snakes: a response to Dowling. Herpetological Review, 34 (4), 295–302.

    Zaher, H., Grazziotin F., Prudente, A.L.C. & Siva Jr., N.J. (2016) Origem e evolução dos elapídeos e das cobras-corais do Novo Mundo. In: Silva Jr., N.J. (Ed.), As Cobras-corais do Brasil. Vol. 01. Biologia, Taxonomia, Venenos e Envenenamentos. PUC/GO Ed., Goiás, pp. 25–45.