The distribution of Amphisbaena prunicolor (Cope, 1885) in Paraguay and its diagnosis from A. darwinii Duméril & Bibron, 1839

Abstract

Amphisbaena prunciolor is known from very few Paraguayan reports in the southern department of Itapúa. Often confused with A. darwinii (including ‘heterozonata’ and ‘trachura’) and A. albocingulata, it is identified by the combination of a rounded head, checkerboard pattern on the ventral surface, presence of a postmalar scale row, and caudal annuli in the range 18–24. We reviewed southern Paraguayan specimens of A. prunicolor and A. darwinii and found that the most recently published specimen of A. prunicolor (IIBP-H 4460) in fact refers to A. darwinii ‘trachura’ but that the first report of the species in Paraguay is correctly identified and refers to a specimen with an autotomized tail. We include live images of an additional modern record of A. prunicolor from this same area and confirm that a specimen (USNM 253536) from the same locality identified in the literature as A. darwinii ‘trachura’ is in fact also A. prunicolor. Finally, we clarify and illustrate the diagnostic characters of A. prunicolor with respect to A. darwinii in Paraguay to reduce future confusion.